Microsoft Office 365 and Windows 10 has been banned from being used in German schools as it doesn’t comply with the set European Union stringent GDPR rules.
The German commissioner overseeing privacy and data protection stated that the Office 365 data stored in the cloud in the country can still be accessed from the US which risks the country’s data from being “exposed to possible access by US authorities.”
Additionally, German’s office of federal security had also warned against Windows 10 being able to send “a wealth of telemetry data to Microsoft.” The company was further contacted to clarify what data it takes, to no avail. Rumors had it, that the data the company collects contravene to the set GDPR laws thus leading to the ban.
Despite the ban, the regulators still acknowledge the need for Office products by learners hinting their interest in teaming up with Microsoft to come up with a privacy-compliant solution. But meanwhile, schools can opt for other tools that are available “on-premise licenses on local systems” like outdated Windows 7 and Office 2016.
Office 365 is not the only product under the German privacy watchdogs; the commissioner also stated that Apple and Google Cloud solutions are not any different.
“The cloud solutions of these providers have so far not been transparent and comprehensibly set out.” he stated.
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(Image Source: ITWire)
