Google is making data that is stored in its European data centres accessible to authorities in the United States. When asked by the German language WirtschaftsWoche magazine, a company spokesperson said that Google has passed on European user data to US intelligence services on several occasions.

US laws such as the Patriot Act require companies based in the country to make even data that is stored abroad accessible to the US authorities. In June, Microsoft had already admitted passing on European customer data from its Office 365 cloud service to US government departments.

At the time, data protectionists had already pointed out a conflict between US anti-terror legislation and European data protection laws that require users to be informed if their data is to be passed on to third parties. Concerns have also been expressed by members of the European Parliament. No official statement has so far been issued by the US authorities.

(crve)