If you require customers to make dozens of choices because you’re not willing to make some sensible default choices, some of them will make the choice to use another browser.
I’m not a Microsoft cheerleader (nor detractor) in general, but in this case, I’m glad they took a position and chose a default on behalf of their customers.
I think they were right to argue as such, and wonder if MS knew that defaulting DNT to on would poison the well like that.
It’s a good argument. When people argue over what a default should be, they often don’t realize that it’s possible to have no default at all, and force an explicit choice.