Microsoft announces new steps to support data protection in the EU

Microsoft has announced new steps to public sector and enterprise customers who need to move their data from the European Union, including a contractual commitment to challenge government requests for data. This announcement follows the recent decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), and draft recommendations issued last week by the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) about how companies can comply with this ruling. Specifically, Microsoft commits to challenge every government request for public sector or enterprise customer data – from any government – where there is a lawful basis for doing so. Second, Microsoft will also provide monetary compensation to customers’ users if it discloses their data in response to a government request in violation of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).