How would you define that when MS wants it could enter your computer and control it without you ever realizing.
Then if something is proven is that if Microsoft can, then NSA can too.
Why Microsoft controlling the crypto keys to your computers is a problem? Are you serious?
Why American companies controlling all the computers of the rest of the world is an issue?
Europe for one should not depend on American companies for basic use of their computers. This is obvious, if you are not American.
This should be obvious, regardless of nationality.
Is it even possible?
It could be implemented in such a way that removing it would cause problems but it shouldn't be too hard to work around it.
Worst case you would you would replace it with something that imitates its response when the UEFI searches for it.
Since a lot of motherboards have spaces for it but seem to function just fine without it leads me to believe it should work just by removing it.
And beyond the issue of baseless speculation as a replacement for journalism, it's a little hard to understand why NSA (or anyone else) controlling TPM is a special threat to users. Despite what the article claims, I don't think TPM is a "backdoor" and it certainly isn't a "surveillance chip". And the articles don't explain how control over TPM gives someone a special advantage over computers with TPM support, an explanation I'm not holding my breath for.