Bing: Difference between revisions - Consumer Rights Wiki

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==Consumer impact summary==

=== Privacy ===

=== Censorship in China ===

See also: Internet censorship in China and Chinese censorship abroad

Microsoft has been criticized for censoring Bing search results to queries made in simplified Chinese characters which are used in mainland China. This is done to comply with the censorship requirements of the government in China. Microsoft has not indicated a willingness to stop censoring search results in simplified Chinese characters in the wake of Google's decision to do so. All simplified Chinese searches in Bing are censored regardless of the user's country. The English-language search results of Bing in China has been skewed to show more content from state-run media like Xinhua News Agency and ''China Daily''. On 23 January 2019, Bing was blocked in China. According to a source quoted by ''The Financial Times'', the order was from the Chinese government to block Bing for "illegal content". On 24 January, Bing was accessible again in China.

Around 4 June 2021, the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Bing blocked image and video search results for the English term "Tank Man" in the US, UK, France, Germany, Singapore, Switzerland, and other countries. Microsoft responded that "This is due to an accidental human error". According to an investigation by ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', the full explanation was that Microsoft accidentally applied its Chinese blacklist globally.

In December 2021, it was required by a "relevant government agency" to suspend its auto-suggest function in China for 30 days. The search engine became partially unavailable in mainland China from 16 December until its resumption on 18 December 2021. According to the company, a government agency in March 2022 required that it suspend auto-suggest function in China for seven days; Bing did not specify the reason. In May 2022, a report released by the Citizen Lab of the University of Toronto found that Bing's autosuggestion system censored the names of Chinese Communist Party leaders, dissidents, and other persons considered politically sensitive in China in both Chinese and English, not only in China but also in the United States and Canada.

In April 2023, Citizen Lab reported that Bing was more censorious in China than native Chinese search engines.

===Privacy===

In 2022, France imposed a €60 million fine on Microsoft for privacy law violations using Bing cookies that prevented users from rejecting those cookies.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 24, 2022 |title=France fines Microsoft 60 million euros over Bing cookies |url=https://borncity.com/win/2022/12/24/france-fines-microsoft-60-million-euros-over-bing-cookies/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224151305/https://borncity.com/win/2022/12/24/france-fines-microsoft-60-million-euros-over-bing-cookies/ |archive-date=December 24, 2022 |access-date=December 24, 2022 |website=Born's Tech and Windows World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=December 22, 2022 |title=France fines Microsoft €60m for imposing advertising cookies |url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20221222-france-fines-microsoft-%E2%82%AC60m-for-imposing-advertising-cookies |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224151303/https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20221222-france-fines-microsoft-%E2%82%AC60m-for-imposing-advertising-cookies |archive-date=December 24, 2022 |access-date=December 24, 2022 |website=RFI}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Xiao |first=Menghan |date=December 23, 2022 |title=Microsoft fined $64 million by France over cookies used in Bing searches |url=https://www.scmagazine.com/analysis/compliance/microsoft-fined-64-million-by-france-over-cookies-used-in-bing-searches |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224151305/https://www.scmagazine.com/analysis/compliance/microsoft-fined-64-million-by-france-over-cookies-used-in-bing-searches |archive-date=December 24, 2022 |access-date=December 24, 2022 |website=SC Media}}</ref>

=== Malware ===

In 2024, [[malware]] was found in the official Bing Wallpaper app that tries to change the users' browser settings in order to set the default web browser to Microsoft Edge. It has also been found stealing Edge, Chrome, and Firefox cookies.<ref>{{cite web |last=Maruccia |first=Alfonso |date=November 21, 2024 |title=The official "Bing Wallpaper app" does some nasty, malware-like things to Windows |url=https://www.techspot.com/news/105673-official-bing-wallpaper-app-does-nasty-malware-like.html |access-date=July 4, 2025 |publisher=Techspot}}</ref>

==Incidents==

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 ==Consumer impact summary==
-=== Privacy ===
+=== Censorship in China ===
+See also: Internet censorship in China and Chinese censorship abroad
+Microsoft has been criticized for censoring Bing search results to queries made in simplified Chinese characters which are used in mainland China. This is done to comply with the censorship requirements of the government in China. Microsoft has not indicated a willingness to stop censoring search results in simplified Chinese characters in the wake of Google's decision to do so. All simplified Chinese searches in Bing are censored regardless of the user's country. The English-language search results of Bing in China has been skewed to show more content from state-run media like Xinhua News Agency and ''China Daily''. On 23 January 2019, Bing was blocked in China. According to a source quoted by ''The Financial Times'', the order was from the Chinese government to block Bing for "illegal content". On 24 January, Bing was accessible again in China.
+Around 4 June 2021, the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Bing blocked image and video search results for the English term "Tank Man" in the US, UK, France, Germany, Singapore, Switzerland, and other countries. Microsoft responded that "This is due to an accidental human error". According to an investigation by ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', the full explanation was that Microsoft accidentally applied its Chinese blacklist globally.
+In December 2021, it was required by a "relevant government agency" to suspend its auto-suggest function in China for 30 days. The search engine became partially unavailable in mainland China from 16 December until its resumption on 18 December 2021. According to the company, a government agency in March 2022 required that it suspend auto-suggest function in China for seven days; Bing did not specify the reason. In May 2022, a report released by the Citizen Lab of the University of Toronto found that Bing's autosuggestion system censored the names of Chinese Communist Party leaders, dissidents, and other persons considered politically sensitive in China in both Chinese and English, not only in China but also in the United States and Canada.
+In April 2023, Citizen Lab reported that Bing was more censorious in China than native Chinese search engines.
+===Privacy===
 In 2022, France imposed a €60 million fine on Microsoft for privacy law violations using Bing cookies that prevented users from rejecting those cookies.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 24, 2022 |title=France fines Microsoft 60 million euros over Bing cookies |url=https://borncity.com/win/2022/12/24/france-fines-microsoft-60-million-euros-over-bing-cookies/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224151305/https://borncity.com/win/2022/12/24/france-fines-microsoft-60-million-euros-over-bing-cookies/ |archive-date=December 24, 2022 |access-date=December 24, 2022 |website=Born's Tech and Windows World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=December 22, 2022 |title=France fines Microsoft €60m for imposing advertising cookies |url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20221222-france-fines-microsoft-%E2%82%AC60m-for-imposing-advertising-cookies |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224151303/https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20221222-france-fines-microsoft-%E2%82%AC60m-for-imposing-advertising-cookies |archive-date=December 24, 2022 |access-date=December 24, 2022 |website=RFI}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Xiao |first=Menghan |date=December 23, 2022 |title=Microsoft fined $64 million by France over cookies used in Bing searches |url=https://www.scmagazine.com/analysis/compliance/microsoft-fined-64-million-by-france-over-cookies-used-in-bing-searches |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224151305/https://www.scmagazine.com/analysis/compliance/microsoft-fined-64-million-by-france-over-cookies-used-in-bing-searches |archive-date=December 24, 2022 |access-date=December 24, 2022 |website=SC Media}}</ref>
+=== Malware ===
+In 2024, [[malware]] was found in the official Bing Wallpaper app that tries to change the users' browser settings in order to  set the default web browser to Microsoft Edge. It has also been found stealing Edge, Chrome, and Firefox cookies.<ref>{{cite web |last=Maruccia |first=Alfonso |date=November 21, 2024 |title=The official "Bing Wallpaper app" does some nasty, malware-like things to Windows |url=https://www.techspot.com/news/105673-official-bing-wallpaper-app-does-nasty-malware-like.html |access-date=July 4, 2025 |publisher=Techspot}}</ref>
 ==Incidents==