Microsoft is preparing to take the fight with the United States government over user data to an entirely new level, as the company is ready to move to data centers in Germany in order to prevent American services from spying on customers.
CEO Satya Nadella announced at a press conference in Berlin that Microsoft could operate new data centers in the country, with help from Deutsche Telekom, which essentially means a German company would be responsible for the information stored on German servers, so any investigation into user would be subject to local laws.
Microsoft is one of the companies fighting against the United States government's attempt to access customer data stored abroad, with a specific case still ongoing. US intelligence services are seeking information about a Microsoft customer whose data is stored on Irish servers, but Redmond refused the request, arguing that the US research warrant is only valid within the country and cannot be used in any other state.
While a verdict in this case is not yet ready, moving to Germany and joining forces with a local company certainly helps, but on the other hand, it could trigger a series of consequences aimed not only directly at it, but also at other service in the United States.
Data centers will open at the end of 2016
Google and Amazon, for example, may be forced to take similar actions if their customers request it, as opening new data centers in Europe could certainly help protect their private lives. It is no secret that the European Union is much more concerned about users' privacy than the United States, and Germany excels in terms of the protection provided for customers' data.
But storing data on Microsoft's servers in Germany will not be free. Customers will have to pay for it, writes the FT.
“These new data center regions will allow customers to use the full power of Microsoft's cloud in Germany … and ensure that a German company retains control of the data” says Satya Nadella.
The United States will certainly not be happy with Microsoft's decision to move data to Germany, so we expect some pretty harsh reactions in the coming months. T-Systems, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, will be responsible for two German data centers that will open in late 2016, so all data requests will be sent to the German company and will have to comply with local regulations.
