What is Microsoft doing with all that data?The thing is, when you're talking about an operating system with access to everything you do on your own equipment, it doesn't necessarily matter what they do with the data. The fact that any data is uploaded involuntarily is already a big problem.
I've been a Windows desktop user for most of my professional life, because in most fields, that's where you'd find the best quality and range of software and the best hardware support. But since the shift to 10, and the attempted abuse of 7 upwards via updates, I've become very cautious about Microsoft and its user-hostile actions. In my own businesses, we run many different platforms now and each computer or device we buy is configured individually according to the needs of its user. The major exception is Windows 10, which we don't use at all as a primary desktop OS. How can you ever trust a system that will update itself against your will and upload your data against your will, run by a business that is apparently building its whole strategy around continuing to do those things and overpowering any user resistance?
What amazes me is that lawyers and compliance officers working in smaller businesses aren't blowing the roof off over this stuff, which seems to all but guarantee that you can't comply with privacy regulations like the GDPR or typical corporate non-disclosure agreements. It seems that several European privacy regulators do have similar concerns and may be investigating various aspects of modern Microsoft systems. Is this just a case of everyone keeping their head down and hoping for the best because they don't see any better options than continuing to use Windows anyway?