(*two*)
Microsoft announced Thursday that it will begin rolling out the first phase of its European Union data demarcation plan starting January 1, 2023, which will allow customers to store and process their customer data within the EU. The move comes two days after the European Commission announced that the approval process for the EU-US data privacy framework had officially begun.
In the first phase of the plan, companies using Microsoft products and services will be able to store and process their customer data within the EU. Microsoft included Azure, Power BI, Dynamics 365, and Office 365 in the first phase.
“With this launch, Microsoft expands existing on-premises storage and processing commitments, dramatically reducing data flows outside of Europe and leveraging our industry-leading data residency solutions,” Julie Brill, Microsoft vice president, said in a post. from blog. In future phases, according to Brill, Microsoft will expand the delineation plan to include the storage and processing of additional categories of personal data, including data provided when receiving technical support.
Microsoft had announced plans to launch the EU Border Plan in March, around the same time the US and EU agreed to sign the Transatlantic Data Policy Framework.
The framework was signed as large companies operating in the EU remained concerned about the movement of their customer data across European borders following the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) introduced in 2018. These companies were mainly concerned about receiving severe sanctions, mainly due to the United States. surveillance laws, which could potentially circumvent GDPR standards for misuse or breach of personal data without consent.
While Microsoft did not provide new details on exactly how the plan would work, in early March it said it would challenge any data transfer requests that did not comply with the Transatlantic Data Privacy and Security Framework.
The company, which has opened and built data centers in more than 17 data center regions in Europe, announced that it will release new data flow documentation to provide transparent data insights to customers whose services will be included in the boundary.
Copyright © 2022 IDG Communications, Inc.
(*two*)