• Bloomberg, Tuesday, January 19, 2010 3:03 PM

Under pressure from European Union privacy regulators, Microsoft said it will begin deleting Internet Protocol addresses associated with search queries after six months. The changes are expected to be implemented within the next 12 to 18 months, and will reduce the time data is held down from 18 to 6 months, according to John Vassallo, Microsoft's vice president of EU affairs.

Microsoft, meanwhile, had until the end of January to respond to concerns expressed by EU officials probing possible breaches of privacy laws. According to Bloomberg, the move leaves Google alone in storing data beyond the accepted six months, and is expected to put pressure on the search giant.

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