Microsoft Lays Out Data Protection Plans for European Cloud Customers

Microsoft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella is pictured onstage during the Microsoft Build conference opening keynote in Seattle, Washington on May 19, 2025. (Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP)
Microsoft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella is pictured onstage during the Microsoft Build conference opening keynote in Seattle, Washington on May 19, 2025. (Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP)
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Microsoft Lays Out Data Protection Plans for European Cloud Customers

Microsoft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella is pictured onstage during the Microsoft Build conference opening keynote in Seattle, Washington on May 19, 2025. (Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP)
Microsoft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella is pictured onstage during the Microsoft Build conference opening keynote in Seattle, Washington on May 19, 2025. (Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP)

Microsoft on Monday said data stored by its European cloud customers would stay in Europe, under European Law, with operations controlled by its local personnel, and under full control of customers.

European companies and governments have been increasingly worrying about their data being moved outside the continent into the hands of other countries such as the US, pushing the American companies such as Microsoft to announce safeguards.

Microsoft in April laid out plans to protect user data as it expands its cloud and AI infrastructure in Europe, including respecting European laws seeking to rein in the power of large technology companies.

On Monday, the company said all remote access by Microsoft engineers to the systems that store and process European data would be approved and monitored by European resident personnel in real-time.

Microsoft said its sovereign private cloud is in preview mode currently and will be generally available later this year.



DeepSeek Faces Expulsion from App Stores in Germany

FILE - The smartphone apps DeepSeek page is seen on a smartphone screen in Beijing, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
FILE - The smartphone apps DeepSeek page is seen on a smartphone screen in Beijing, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
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DeepSeek Faces Expulsion from App Stores in Germany

FILE - The smartphone apps DeepSeek page is seen on a smartphone screen in Beijing, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
FILE - The smartphone apps DeepSeek page is seen on a smartphone screen in Beijing, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

Germany has taken steps towards blocking Chinese AI startup DeepSeek from the Apple and Google app stores due to concerns about data protection, according to a data protection authority commissioner in a statement on Friday.

DeepSeek has been reported to the two US tech giants as illegal content, said commissioner Meike Kamp, and the companies must now review the concerns and decide whether to block the app in Germany, Reuters reported.

"DeepSeek has not been able to provide my agency with convincing evidence that German users' data is protected in China to a level equivalent to that in the European Union," she said.

"Chinese authorities have far-reaching access rights to personal data within the sphere of influence of Chinese companies," she added.

The move comes after Reuters exclusively reported this week that DeepSeek is aiding China's military and intelligence operations.

DeepSeek, which shook the technology world in January with claims that it had developed an AI model that rivaled those from US firms such as ChatGPT creator OpenAI at much lower cost, says it stores numerous personal data, such as requests to the AI or uploaded files, on computers in China.