In an ongoing battle that started in 2018 with the EU, several state courts, including the federal German court, found that Microsoft 365 was not compliant with GDPR laws. The ban mostly affects educational institutions and companies that use Microsoft’s 365 product line. The ban comes after Microsoft ended its special arrangements with German users.
An excerpt from the September 2022 article published by techgenix “Germany Forces a Microsoft 365 Ban Due to Privacy Concerns” highlights the preferred use of On-Premise or non-Microsoft solutions over Office 365.
“At the heart of the issue is a clash between the US’s CLOUD Act of 2018 and the GDPR. Under the CLOUD Act, the US Government and its agencies can request any user’s data from US-based tech companies, including non-US citizens.
That means US agencies can get information stored on servers that are not physically in the US and fall under other jurisdictions. Under the legislation, the US courts can issue a request for data on any persons. This is strictly against the provisions of the GDPR. So, under the new ban, companies or institutions in Germany can store files on private on-premise servers. If companies do not meet the condition, it would be illegal to use Office 365. Apart from Germany, courts in other countries have also illegalized Microsoft’s data practices. “
At present, the only attainable solution is for affected companies and institutions to have on-premise or local servers.
Head over to spixnet to read the full article.