How Top-Valued Microsoft Has Avoided the Big Tech Backlash

Today, Microsoft has positioned itself as the tech sector's leading advocate on public policy matters like protecting consumer privacy and establishing ethical guidelines for artificial intelligence. Though it has sued to limit government access to users' data, Microsoft is seen in capitals around the world as the most government-friendly of the tech companies. "It's in a league of its own," said Casper Klynge, a foreign-service officer who is Denmark's ambassador to the technology industry, based in Silicon Valley. "There is self-interest, of course. But Microsoft actively engages with governments on important issues far more than we see from the other big tech companies."