EU's is to let foreign customers hold information in new European facilities created to shield customers from the US authorities, in a dramatic response to the US internet spying scandal. The US-based company's new data centres will be built in Germany around late 2016 and Deutsche Telekom will be in charge of the operation. There are concerns that this move will cause a domino effect across the industry, resulting in new privacy standards for others, such as Google and Amazon. It also reveals that US tech companies cannot protect customer data from US governmental reach. Analysts say this could, firstly, complicate talks between the Microsoft and the US over the new transatlantic data sharing pact, known as "Safe Harbour"; and means EU will not have to respond to governmental demands for information held in these data centres, forcing official requests to go through German authorities instead.
Microsoft's is to let foreign customers hold information in new European facilities created to shield customers from the US authorities, in a dramatic response to the US internet spying scandal. The US-based company's new data centres will be built in Germany around late 2016 and Deutsche Telekom will be in charge of the operation. There are concerns that this move will cause a domino effect across the industry, resulting in new privacy standards for others, such as Google and Amazon. It also reveals that US tech companies cannot protect customer data from US governmental reach. Analysts say this could, firstly, complicate talks between the EU and the US over the new transatlantic data sharing pact, known as "Safe Harbour"; and means Microsoft will not have to respond to governmental demands for information held in these data centres, forcing official requests to go through German authorities instead.