Microsoft appoints new privacy boss

Microsoft has appointed a senior executive to work on its privacy strategy.

Peter Cullen, currently working as corporate privacy officer for the Royal Bank of Canada, will join Microsoft as chief privacy strategist from 14 July.

The company said he will bring more than a decade of privacy expertise with him.

Cullen will report to Scott Charney, Microsoft's chief Trustworthy Computing strategist, and work with him to help ensure that privacy protections and best practices are incorporated into all products, services, systems and internal processes, the company said.

"Peter Cullen has the experience to drive Microsoft's commitment to privacy protections to the next level," said Charney.

"With his deep background in privacy and data protection practices and their relationship to customer value, Peter will be an effective advocate for strong and innovative consumer privacy safeguards."

Cullen himself said: "Microsoft has placed a priority on privacy, and I look forward to applying my experience in developing innovative privacy practices and programs to deliver high-quality technologies and services to our customers and partners."