Microsoft announced on Thursday that it will be enhancing its cloud computing service to allow users to store all personal data within the European Union, instead of having it transferred to the U.S. where there are no existing national privacy laws.

According to the Seattle-based technology company, the updates will impact services such as Azure, Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and Dynamics 365.

Cloud computing corporations have been shifting towards localizing the storage and processing of data due to stricter regulations in the European Union, which consists of 27 nations and has stringent laws regarding data privacy.

For years, Brussels and Washington have been in disagreement over the protection of personal information belonging to EU citizens that is stored by tech companies in the United States. This issue was brought to light by Edward Snowden, a former contractor for the National Security Agency, who revealed that the U.S. government was monitoring people’s digital data and communications.

According to Microsoft, their “EU Data Boundary solution exceeds the requirements for European compliance.” The company has promised in the past that their customers’ data would not be transferred outside of the EU.

Last year, the company began to store and handle certain data within Europe. Now, it is extending this to all personal data, including pseudonymized data that can be found in automatic system logs, which are created automatically when online services are used.

In the upcoming months, Microsoft will begin to ensure that technical support data remains within Europe. They also intend to offer a paid option for receiving initial tech support responses from within the EU.

Last year, Amazon introduced separate cloud infrastructure for the EU in response to the tight regulations that businesses and government organizations encounter.

Source: wral.com