The European Commission’s use of Microsoft 365 software is subject to monitoring by the EU’s privacy watchdog.
As first reported by Reuters, the European Commission’s use of Microsoft allegedly violates privacy rules, while the European Data Protection Supervisor’s (EDPS) watchdog has confirmed that the European Data Protection Supervisor or failed to put in place appropriate safeguards for personal data transferred to a non-European Economic Area. (EEA) Countries.
The EDPS required the European Commission to ensure compliance with privacy regulations and stop data transfers to U.S. companies and third-country subsidiaries that do not have established privacy agreements with the EU. Both directives were issued with a December 9 deadline.
EDPS said in a statement:
The European Commission provides appropriate safeguards to ensure that personal data transferred outside the EU/EEA is afforded essentially the same level of protection as guaranteed in the EU/EEA. It could not (…) In its contract with Microsoft, the European Commission did not sufficiently specify what it meant. When you use Microsoft 365, the types of personal data collected and the explicit and specified purposes are defined. ”
EDPS has filed a complaint with the European Commission asking the Redmond-based tech giant and its customers based in countries outside of Europe that are not covered by EU-established data adequacy agreements due to the use of Microsoft 365. Directed all data transfers to our affiliates and sub-processors to cease. There are 16 member countries including the US, UK, Switzerland, and South Korea. They were also asked to ensure that their future use of Microsoft 365 complies with the Privacy Rules.
The EDPS ruling stems from a three-year investigation sparked by concerns over the transfer of personal data to the United States, and was originally filed in 2013 to investigate a former U.S. intelligence contractor’s investigation into U.S. surveillance activities. This was triggered by the revelations made by Edward Snowden.
“The concerns raised by the European Data Protection Supervisor are primarily related to the stricter transparency requirements under the EUDPR, a law that applies only to institutions in the European Union,” a Microsoft spokesperson responded. We have confirmed that we will consider the EDPS’s decision and cooperate with the management of data protection. Concerns.
The European Commission has not yet responded to Reuters’ request for comment.
Microsoft and the European Commission
Microsoft has had a complicated relationship with the European Commission for decades, but the friction has escalated over the past year.
Microsoft will unbundle Teams from Office 365 in Europe in August, following pressure from Slack and the European Union to avoid a recently announced European Commission investigation into alleged anticompetitive practices. announced his intentions.
Slack accused Microsoft of anti-competitive behavior because the tech giant included Teams in its subscription for free, rather than charging an additional fee or allowing businesses to purchase Office 365 without Teams. He was blaming. Rumors of an EU investigation had been swirling for months, but it was confirmed in July.
Microsoft had proposed separating Teams from the software package and selling it to new customers at an annual discount. However, the European Commission considered this concession to be too little, too late and was preparing a statement of opposition to send to Microsoft.
Microsoft is also the subject of a European Commission investigation following the introduction of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which targets “gatekeepers” who provide “core platform services” and may engage in uncompetitive commercial practices. It became.
The committee was investigating whether Microsoft’s Bing, Edge, and Advertising services fall under the jurisdiction of the DMA. But Microsoft argues that because Bing has only a 3% market share, it shouldn’t be bound to the same regulatory conditions as Google.
More recently, the European Commission has joined other antitrust bodies, such as the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the US’ Federal Trade Commission, in investigating Microsoft’s relationship with OpenAI.
Microsoft has invested approximately $13 billion in OpenAI over the past four years. But all three regulatory investigations come in the context of November’s OpenAI scandal. In the OpenAI scandal, CEO Sam Altman was fired by the company’s board and reinstated just four days later after intense pressure from both employees and investors. The melodrama comes as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who has no voting rights on OpenAI’s board, publicly called for improved governance at the AI startup.
