<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><br><br><br><div dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/540a296e-87ff-11e5-9f8c-a8d619fa707c.html#axzz3r4thbhrI" target="_blank">http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/540a296e-87ff-11e5-9f8c-a8d619fa707c.html#axzz3r4thbhrI</a><div><br></div><div><br><br><div style="font-family:Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;clear:both;padding:0px;min-width:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:16px"><p style="margin:0px 0px 5px;padding:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;color:rgb(119,119,119)"><span>November 11, 2015 8:46 am</span></p><div style="clear:both"><h1 style="font-weight:normal;font-size:32px;padding:0px;clear:both;line-height:36px">Microsoft unveils German data plan to tackle US internet spying</h1></div><p style="margin:8px 0px 22px;padding:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:18px">Murad Ahmed in Berlin and Richard Waters in San Francisco</p><div style="background-image:url(http://im.ft-static.com/m/img/components/common/standfirst-border.png);background-repeat:repeat no-repeat"><div style="background-image:url(http://im.ft-static.com/m/img/components/common/standfirst-border.png);padding:0px;background-repeat:repeat no-repeat"><ul style="list-style:none;margin:0px;padding:8px 0px;float:left;width:2287px"><li style="margin:0px 14px 0px 0px;padding:0px;min-height:20px;float:left;line-height:22px"><a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/540a296e-87ff-11e5-9f8c-a8d619fa707c.html#" style="color:rgb(46,110,158);text-decoration:none;background-image:none;background-color:transparent;display:block;font-family:BentonSans,sans-serif" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:ft-icons;display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;speak:none;text-decoration:inherit;font-size:22px"></span> <span style="background-image:none;font-size:12px;display:inline-block;padding:0px 0px 0px 4px">Share<span style="font-family:ft-icons;display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;speak:none;text-decoration:inherit;font-size:13px;padding-left:4px"></span></span></a></li><li style="margin:0px 14px 0px 0px;padding:0px;min-height:20px;float:left;line-height:22px"><div style="display:inline-block;line-height:1em"><span style="font-family:ft-icons;display:inline-block;vertical-align:text-top;speak:none;text-decoration:inherit;color:rgb(46,110,158);font-size:17px"></span> <button style="border:0px;border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;padding:0px 0px 0px 5px;margin:0px;color:rgb(46,110,158);font-family:BentonSans,sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:13px">Author alerts<span style="font-family:ft-icons;display:inline-block;speak:none;text-decoration:inherit;margin-left:4px;line-height:13px;font-size:13px;vertical-align:inherit"></span></button><div style="border:2px solid rgb(116,115,108);border-top-left-radius:5px;border-top-right-radius:5px;border-bottom-right-radius:5px;border-bottom-left-radius:5px;max-width:100%;padding:10px 20px;margin-top:8px"><span style="display:block;font-size:14px;padding:10px 5px"></span><ul style="list-style:none;margin:0px;padding:0px"></ul></div></div></li><li style="margin:0px 14px 0px 0px;padding:0px;min-height:20px;float:left;line-height:22px"><a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/540a296e-87ff-11e5-9f8c-a8d619fa707c.html#" style="color:rgb(46,110,158);text-decoration:none;background-image:none;background-color:transparent;display:block;font-family:BentonSans,sans-serif" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:ft-icons;display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;speak:none;text-decoration:inherit;font-size:22px"></span> <span style="background-image:none;font-size:12px;display:inline-block;padding:0px 0px 0px 4px">Print</span></a></li><li style="margin:0px 14px 0px 0px;padding:0px;min-height:20px;float:left;line-height:22px"><a href="http://clippings.ft.com/clipthis/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F540a296e-87ff-11e5-9f8c-a8d619fa707c.html&title=Microsoft+unveils+German+data+plan+to+tackle+US+internet+spying&note=Centres+under+control+of+Deutsche+Telekom+aim+to+protect+customers+from+American+authorities&datepublished=2015-11-11+08%3A46%3A9&images=http%3A%2F%2Fim.ft-static.com%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F153aa073-5b67-4728-80ab-93fe60c38caa.img%2C" style="color:rgb(46,110,158);text-decoration:none;background-image:none;background-color:transparent;display:block;font-family:BentonSans,sans-serif" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:ft-icons;display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;speak:none;text-decoration:inherit;font-size:22px"></span><span style="background-image:none;font-size:12px;display:inline-block;padding:0px 0px 0px 4px;margin-left:4px">Clip</span></a></li><li style="margin:0px 14px 0px 0px;padding:0px;min-height:20px;float:left;line-height:22px"><a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/540a296e-87ff-11e5-9f8c-a8d619fa707c.html#" style="color:rgb(46,110,158);text-decoration:none;background-image:none;background-color:transparent;display:block;font-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http://www.ft.com/nbe?firstft=Y" style="color:rgb(46,110,158);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">Sign up now</a></h3><div style="margin:0px 0px 20px;text-align:center"><a href="http://www.ft.com/nbe" style="color:rgb(46,110,158);text-decoration:none" target="_blank"><img alt="firstFT" src="http://im.ft-static.com/content/images/8290489e-64f2-11e4-ab2d-00144feabdc0.img" style="border:0px"></a></div><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px;font-size:12px;line-height:16px"><em>First</em>FT is our new essential daily email briefing of the best stories from across the web</p></div></div><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px">Technology analysts say it is a “watershed moment”, describing the manoeuvre as the first time a major US tech group had accepted its inability to protect customer data from <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/76797b80-7733-11e5-a95a-27d368e1ddf7.html#axzz3r6IAou4w" title="Hacks clear path for US cyber bill - FT.com" style="color:rgb(46,110,158);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">US governmental over-reach</a>.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px">Microsoft’s initiative could have a ripple effect across the industry, creating a tough new privacy standard that customers may soon also demand from other “cloud computing” providers such as <a href="http://markets.ft.com/tearsheets/performance.asp?s=us:GOOGL" style="color:rgb(46,110,158);text-decoration:none;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;border-bottom-color:rgb(46,110,158)" target="_blank">Google</a>, <a href="http://markets.ft.com/tearsheets/performance.asp?s=us:AMZN" style="color:rgb(46,110,158);text-decoration:none;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;border-bottom-color:rgb(46,110,158)" target="_blank">Amazon </a>and <a href="http://markets.ft.com/tearsheets/performance.asp?s=us:ORCL" style="color:rgb(46,110,158);text-decoration:none;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;border-bottom-color:rgb(46,110,158)" target="_blank">Oracle</a>.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px">Silicon Valley groups are struggling to <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/683f8cc0-6da7-11e5-aca9-d87542bf8673.html#axzz3r6IAou4w" title="Opinion: Worldwide fight over personal data has barely begun - FT.com" style="color:rgb(46,110,158);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">regain the trust</a> of European customers in the wake of disclosures by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden about widespread internet surveillance by US intelligence agencies.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px">Mr Nadella told the Financial Times that the effort was designed to regain the trust of customers which had been lost as a result of the Snowden disclosures. “We need to earn both trust of our global customers and operate globally. That’s at the cornerstone of how we’ve done business and how we will continue to do business,” he said.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px">In response, US tech groups have moved to build data centres in European countries. But many of the region’s customers remain unsatisfied that these efforts alone can protect against snooping.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px">“I think Microsoft have come to the conclusion that they can’t get away from being a US company,” says Carsten Casper, analyst at Gartner, the research group. “I find that more honourable than others who try to move their data centres to Europe to appease customers, but how good is it to have data centres in those countries if you can access it from abroad with no particular problem?”</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px">Analysts say Microsoft’s concession could complicate negotiations between US and EU politicians on a new <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4b0e9cce-83d5-11e5-8095-ed1a37d1e096.html#axzz3r6IAou4w" title="Transatlantic safe harbour deal still months away, EU warns - FT.com" style="color:rgb(46,110,158);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">transatlantic data sharing pact</a> known as “Safe Harbour”. Talks have been faltering for months over the thorny political issue of surveillance.</p><div style="float:right;margin:0px 0px 0px 20px;padding:8px 0px;width:170px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;overflow:visible"><q style="display:block;margin:0px 0px 10px;line-height:22px;color:rgb(119,119,119)"><span style="display:inline-block;min-height:22px;line-height:22px;vertical-align:bottom;background-image:url(http://im.ft-static.com/m/img/sprites/pullquote.gif);white-space:nowrap;padding-left:27px;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">I</span> think Microsoft have come to the conclusion that they can’t get away from being a US <span style="display:inline-block;min-height:22px;line-height:22px;vertical-align:bottom;background-image:url(http://im.ft-static.com/m/img/sprites/pullquote.gif);white-space:nowrap;padding-right:27px;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat">company</span></q><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px;font-size:11px">- Carsten Casper, Gartner analyst</p><div style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:11px;line-height:18px;font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Arial,sans-serif;max-width:100%;width:170px;display:inline-block;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;white-space:nowrap"><a style="color:rgb(51,51,51);border-top-left-radius:3px;border-top-right-radius:3px;border-bottom-left-radius:3px;border-bottom-right-radius:3px;min-height:20px;max-width:100%;background-color:rgb(238,238,238);background-image:linear-gradient(white,rgb(222,222,222));border:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);font-weight:bold;overflow:hidden;display:inline-block;outline:none medium;vertical-align:top"><span style="display:inline-block;min-height:13px;line-height:22px;vertical-align:bottom;background-image:url(http://im.ft-static.com/m/img/sprites/twitter.png);width:16px;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat"></span><span style="display:inline-block;min-height:22px;line-height:22px;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0px 3px 0px 19px;font-weight:normal;background-image:none!important"><strong>Tweet</strong> this quote</span></a></div></div><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px">Under Microsoft’s German arrangement, T-Systems, a Deutsche Telekom subsidiary, will operate two new data centre facilities in the country that will open for business in late 2016. They will be used solely to house information on Microsoft European customers, who will also be asked to pay more to store data in this way.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px">But T-Systems will act as a “trustee” of the facilities, with Microsoft insisting its employees will have no access to the data held at the facilities without the German company’s permission. </p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px">The companies believe this arrangement means Microsoft will not have to respond to governmental demands for information held in these data centres, forcing official requests to go through German authorities instead. </p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px">Germany’s data protection laws, enforced by powerful privacy watchdogs, are considered to be among the continent’s strictest.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px">The trustee solution is also a response to Microsoft’s <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8cacd92a-b7bb-11e4-981d-00144feab7de.html#axzz3r6IAou4w" title="Google joins fight to curb US data hunt - FT.com" style="color:rgb(46,110,158);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">legal battle</a> against an order from a New York court, which is trying to force the software group to hand US authorities emails from a US citizen stored on a Microsoft server in Ireland. </p><div style="float:left;clear:left;margin:5px 24px 5px 0px;border-top-width:8px;border-top-style:solid;border-top-color:rgb(233,222,207);padding:5px 8px 8px;width:170px;background-color:rgb(246,233,216);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;overflow:visible;background-repeat:repeat no-repeat"><h3 style="font-weight:normal;font-size:14px;margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;line-height:16px">Opinion</h3><strong><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px;font-size:12px;line-height:16px"><a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/683f8cc0-6da7-11e5-aca9-d87542bf8673.html#axzz3qytdspuq" title="www.ft.com" style="color:rgb(46,110,158);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">Worldwide fight over personal data has barely begun </a></p></strong><div style="margin:0px 0px 20px;text-align:center"><img alt="White collar criminal in blue suit is hacking holes into the security helix of a virtual firewall. His left hand is removing unlocked data packets with a swiping movement. Concept for cyber attack." src="http://im.ft-static.com/content/images/278a95cf-fa67-4b04-aa9f-f0848f461bf3.img"></div><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px;font-size:12px;line-height:16px">One can’t blame Americans for complaining about European hypocrisy, writes Evgeny Morozov</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px;font-size:12px;line-height:16px"><a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/683f8cc0-6da7-11e5-aca9-d87542bf8673.html#axzz3qytdspuq" title="www.ft.com" style="color:rgb(46,110,158);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">Read more</a></p></div><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px">Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president and chief legal officer, has made the case a centrepiece of the company’s pushback against intrusive government demands for personal information, pledging to take the case to the US Supreme Court if necessary.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px">Executives at rival technology companies are concerned about the implications of the high-profile case because of the precedent it will set in the running of their businesses. Microsoft’s German plan would address this issue, should it lose the case.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px">But Paul Miller from Forrester Research says the trustee model is also likely to come under legal attack in the US. </p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px">“As with all new legal approaches, we don’t know it is watertight until it is challenged in court,” he says. “Microsoft and T-Systems’ lawyers are very good and say its watertight. But we can be sure opposition lawyers will look for all the holes.”</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px">Last month, Europe gave a <a href="http://podcast.ft.com/2015/10/07/europes-safe-harbour-ruling-unpacked/" title="Europe’s ‘safe harbour’ ruling unpacked - Podcast - FT.com" style="color:rgb(46,110,158);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">stinging rebuke</a> to the transatlantic digital alliance, scrapping a 15-year pact that allowed US tech companies to ship personal information about European citizens wholesale to the US. </p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px">The European Court of Justice decision to invalidate the <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/7544e716-6b87-11e5-aca9-d87542bf8673.html#axzz3ntAT6SP8" title="‘Safe harbour’: why its future hangs in the balance - FT.com" style="color:rgb(46,110,158);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">“Safe Harbour”</a> agreement has left thousands of businesses scrambling to change their legal footing to avoid breaking the law. Europe’s data protection authorities have given companies until January to find alternative data transfer agreements.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px">The US and EU are working to secure a new Safe Harbour treaty but analysts say Microsoft’s decision may strengthen the resolve of EU diplomats who are holding out for stronger assurances over whether citizens data will be subsumed into the US surveillance regime.</p><p style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 20px">“I think it will put pressure on negotiators trying to reach a new transatlantic privacy agreement,” says Mr Casper. “There’s a new piece in the puzzle now.”</p><div><br></div></div></div></div></div></div>
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