Office 365 banned in schools in German state over privacy concerns

The German state of Hesse has declared the use of Office 365 illegal citing privacy concerns and non-compliance to the GDPR. Windows 10 and Office 365 cloud platform sends telemetry information back to the USA, and currently there is no provisions to disable the option. This collection of information is a violation of the GDPR. The situation has lead the Hesse Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (HBDI)  to state that using Office 365 cloud platform in the existing configuration exposes personal information of students and teachers ‘to potential access by US authorities’. Taking consent from each individual user, is the only way to solve the issue, according to HBDI.