Microsoft: The First Cloud Provider to Offer GDPR Contractual Commitments

Counting down to the coming GDPR regulations in 2018

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Microsoft GDPR
Unified Communications

Published: May 25, 2017

Rebekah Carter - Writer

Rebekah Carter

Though the official arrival of the new General Data Protection Regulation is set for 2018, companies are already taking steps to improve data protection laws. In a recent blog post, Microsoft General Counsel, and VP, Rich Sauer noted that the business has already begun to publicly offer contractual commitments in regard to this specific EU law, stating that the new steps were taken to offer GDPR-related peace of mind about the company services.

In response to the upcoming GDPR, Microsoft’s representative, Sauer, noted that the brand believes that their customers have a right to privacy, and the changing regulations are a crucial step forward in making sure that everyone has access to privacy rights. He further noted that the company is looking forward to sharing new updates on how the brand will comply with GDPR standards.

Offering Pointers for the Upcoming Change

Since preparing for a new law will require several changes on the part of various companies, Microsoft has offered a few pointers about the GDPR in its trust centre, as well as a guide that comes through a download window, covering all the necessary information available. Perhaps most crucially, the document also offers a range of sections that are dedicated to the features of Microsoft Cloud services like Office 365 and Azure, along with more traditional offerings too.

One particularly useful section of the Trust article outlines the rights that companies must provide under the new law, which include:

  • Allowing customers to object to the use of data for certain purposes, such as profiling and marketing
  • Giving customers an opportunity to access a copy of personal data
  • Allowing customers to object to, or restrict the processing of their personal data
  • Have personal data erased and rectified in specific circumstances (or the right to be forgotten as it is sometimes referred to)
  • Giving customers the opportunity to have incorrect data corrected or deleted
  • Allowing customers to access crucial personal data when required
  • Allowing customers to access information made readily available in clear language about how their information is used

It’s fair to say that a company as big of Microsoft typically handles a lot of data on its servers, so it’s interesting that it will be taking a proactive approach to these new data strategies for security. Hopefully, these measures from Microsoft will help to put customer minds at ease.

 

 

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