Microsoft’s Patriot Act admission has the european up in arms

Last week, Microsoft quietly confirmed that cloud data stored on its European servers can still be handed over to American investigators — and the european is none too pleased about it. Because it seems, the revelation has shed new light on a fundamental conflict between US law and the EU’s Data Protection Directive — an edict requiring that businesses notify consumers whenever sharing their personal information. The bi-lateral Safe Harbor agreement requires similarly strict protocol, but under the Patriot Act (which trumps all else), companies like Microsoft can be forced at hand over private data without informing targeted individuals. In response, some members of the eu Parliament are calling upon legislators to do so and to implement safeguards that cannot be overridden by third-party governments. It continues to be seen whether this results in any new laws or transatlantic tensions, but when we’ve learned anything, it’s that Europeans take their clouds very seriously .

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This post is tagged: fundamental conflict, members of the european parliament, party governments, protection directive, strict protocol