A group of privacy organizations on Wednesday renewed their attacks on Microsoft's Passport authentification service and Windows XP, asking the Federal Trade Commission to mandate changes in Microsoft's new operating system. The loose affiliation of 14 groups amended an existing complaint filed in late July with the FTC. During a media event, Marc Rotenberg, executive director for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said the groups had filed a 12-page supplemental complaint "alleging that Microsoft by offering Passport (authentication) and associated services is engaging in unfair and deceptive trade practices in violation of Section 5 of the FTC act."

The amended filing focused on changes the coalition said Microsoft made to Passport in response to their original complaint and also on privacy concerns regarding Kids Passport. Based on a review conducted by the Center for Media Education, the groups concluded that Kids Passport does not comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Bran Arbogast, vice president of Microsoft's Personal Services & Devices Group, dismissed many of the privacy allegations leveled against the software giant. "For Microsoft to be a leader in the services world, we need to be constantly gaining the trust of our partners and customers," he said. "We are very serious about privacy." Wednesday's amended complaint drew a skeptical response from some industry analysts, as well, who said they are not convinced that many of the groups' complaints against Windows XP and other Microsoft technologies such as Passport are warranted or that the company's privacy policies are any worse than those implemented by other companies.