Just Trust Us, Microsoft Says

REDMOND, Wash. -- Bill Gates can keep your secrets. Microsoft (MSFT Quote) promises.

With renewed scrutiny bearing down on the firm from privacy advocates, Microsoft executives -- during a meeting with financial analysts Thursday -- repeatedly emphasized that consumers, and not the software firm, will control the data stored in its controversial Passport personal information service.

At a time when control over personal information is emerging as a key social issue, Microsoft has found itself wedged between trying to fulfill its key mission -- to make technology easier to use -- and the mistrust that consumers and other businesses feel toward it and its upcoming products. ...