BRUSSELS, June 4 (Reuters) - Microsoft ( MSFT ) is

shifting its responsibilities for children's personal data onto

schools who are not equipped to cope, advocacy group NOYB

alleges in one of two complaints filed to Austria's privacy

watchdog.

The complaints against Microsoft's ( MSFT ) online education software

are the latest grievances levelled against the U.S. tech giant

by rivals and campaigners.

Online educational programmes gained in popularity during

the COVID-19 pandemic as schools switched to remote teaching and

students became online learners.

NOYB's (None of your business) gripes centre on Microsoft's ( MSFT )

365 Education suite of software programmes for students that

include Word, Excel, Microsoft Teams, PowerPoint and Outlook.

In its first complaint, the advocacy group alleges Microsoft ( MSFT )

shifts its responsibility as a data controller required to

process users' personal data under EU privacy rules known as the

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to schools, which do

not hold the necessary data.

"Under the current system that Microsoft ( MSFT ) is imposing on

schools, your school would have to audit Microsoft ( MSFT ) or give them

instructions on how to process pupils' data. Everyone knows that

such contractual arrangements are out of touch with reality,"

NOYB lawyer Maartje de Graaf said in a statement.

"This is nothing more but an attempt to shift the

responsibility for children's data as far away from Microsoft ( MSFT ) as

possible," she said.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) said it was happy to answer any questions from

data protection agencies regarding NOYB's complaints.

"M365 for Education complies with GDPR and other applicable

privacy laws and we thoroughly protect the privacy of our young

users," a Microsoft ( MSFT ) spokesperson said.

The second NOYB complaint focuses on cookies installed in

Microsoft's ( MSFT ) 365 Education. Advertisers use cookies to track

consumers.

"Our analysis of the data flows is very worrying. Microsoft ( MSFT )

365 Education appears to track users regardless of their age.

This practice is likely to affect hundreds of thousands of

pupils and students in the EU and EEA (European Economic Area),"

said NOYB lawyer Felix Mikolasch.

NOYB urged the Austrian Data Protection Authority to

investigate its complaints and fine Microsoft ( MSFT ).