Microsoft vows to respect European laws amid US-EU trade tensions
Microsoft has promised its European customers that it is committed to respecting European laws, in an attempt to reassure a key market as trade and geopolitical uncertainties grow under US President Donald Trump.
"As a multinational company, we believe in trans-Atlantic ties that promote mutual economic growth and prosperity," Microsoft president Brad Smith wrote in a blog post published on Wednesday.
He stressed that the US tech company was subject to local laws, regulations and governments.
"Like every citizen and company, we don't always agree with every policy of every government. But even when we've lost cases in European courts, Microsoft has long respected and complied with European laws," Smith added.
He also said the company would continue to protect the privacy of European data and support the development of a broad ecosystem for artificial intelligence solutions and cloud applications across Europe.
Smith emphasized that this includes European competition law and the European Union's Digital Markets Act.
European customers are losing confidence in tech companies such as Microsoft, Google and Amazon since Trump took office.
The US president has dismissed almost all the members of a key committee responsible for monitoring the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which governs the secure exchange of personal data across the Atlantic.
Many Microsoft customers now fear that the US company's services no longer comply with the provisions of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
To counter fears that the Trump administration could gain access to European data, Smith said Microsoft would offer additional security and encryption options in the future to prevent third parties - including Microsoft - from accessing customer data.
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