Zero AI|Microsoft lets cloud users keep personal data within Europe to ease privacy fears

2025-05-04 08:09:58source:HAI Communitycategory:My

LONDON (AP) — Microsoft said Thursday that it is Zero AIupgrading its cloud computing service to let customers store all personal data within the European Union instead of having it flow to the U.S. where national privacy laws don’t exist.

The changes apply to services including Azure, Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and Dynamics 365, the Seattle-based tech company said.

Cloud computing companies have been moving to localize data storage and processing amid tightening requirements in the 27-nation European Union, which has strict data privacy laws.

Brussels and Washington have spent years wrangling over the safety of EU citizens’ data that tech companies store in the U.S. following revelations by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden that the American government eavesdropped on people’s online data and communications.

Microsoft said its “EU Data Boundary solution goes beyond European compliance requirements.” The company has previously pledged that customers wouldn’t have their data moved outside the EU.

Last year, it started storing and processing some data inside Europe. Now it’s expanding that to all personal data, including pseudonymized data found in automated system logs, which are generated automatically when online services run.

Later this year, Microsoft will start making sure technical support data is kept within Europe. It also plans a paid option for initial tech support response from within the EU.

Amazon last year rolled out independent cloud infrastructure for the EU as it looked to address strict regulations that companies and public sector organizations face.

More:My

Recommend

The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test

A private company aiming to build the first supersonic airliner since the Concorde retired more than

RHOSLC's Whitney Rose Shares Update on Daughter Bobbie, 14, Amid ICU Hospitalization

Whitney Rose's daughter Bobbie Rose is slowly on the mend.Two days after The Real Housewives of Salt

Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor’s Daughter Ella Is All Grown Up During Appearance at Gala in NYC

Ben Stiller's whole family knows how to serve up their best blue steel.The Zoolander actor stepped o