#MarriageEquality: Because success is based on diversity

- Sabine Bendiek - Chairwoman of the Management Board of Microsoft Deutschland GmbH

Somewhat surprisingly, the discussion about the #marriageforall has been refueled this week – which is a good thing. After all, the protection against discrimination for reasons of sexual orientation and identity is firmly established in the charter of fundamental rights of the European Union. Now is the time for Germany to put an end to the discrimination of same-sex partnerships and enable marriage for all. Because the success of our … Read more »

Microsoft appoints globally respected regulator to privacy leadership role

- Microsoft Corporate Blogs

Microsoft announced today that Julie Brill, former Commissioner of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), will join Microsoft to lead privacy, data protection and other regulatory issues as head of its Privacy and Regulatory Affairs Group. Brill will join as corporate vice president and deputy general counsel for Privacy and Regulatory Affairs. She will report directly to Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president and chief legal officer.

Skype in the EECC: Suffocating a European success story or allowing others?

- Cornelia Kutterer - Senior Director EU Government Affairs, Privacy & Digital Policies, Microsoft

Skype represents a remarkable European success story. Founded in Estonia by a Swede and a Dane, it unlocked free and low-cost communications for the entire world. It is a perfect demonstration of what Europe hopes to achieve; a true digital single market player. Today, 500 million Europeans from Poland to Portugal can enjoy how Skype, and other Internet-based messaging services, allow them to send messages, make video and voice calls, … Read more »

Export Controls: The Next Frontier in Cybersecurity?

- Alan Cohn - Coalition for Responsible Cybersecurity

When it comes to cybersecurity, issues such as data protection or data localization tend to dominate the headlines, as well as regulators’ attention. But a number of other developments are unfolding which have significant repercussions for the sector, even if they have gone largely unnoticed. These relate to two different sets of export control regulations. Last week, governments met in Vienna to once again discuss proposed multilateral export controls on … Read more »

Ethics now: shaping a new ethical framework for health data

- Luciano Floridi

Artificial intelligence and big data have the potential to revolutionize and democratize healthcare across societies. However, their use carries significant ethical implications. We must ensure that the right frameworks are in place so that new technologies help rather than harm, human welfare, and that we avoid missing opportunities to improve living standards. When it comes to technology, we have already seen successful applications of AI and big data in healthcare, … Read more »

Staying the course on data flows: a priority for the G20

- John Frank - Vice President for EU Government Affairs

How to create confidence in the digital world? We at Microsoft have joined the G20’s business dialogue process (B20) and will discuss concerns and responses to this question at the G20 Conference on “Digitalization: Policies for a Digital Future” taking place in Düsseldorf today, before the meeting of the G20 digital ministers. Digitalization and its impacts are high on the G20’s list of priorities for 2017. Digital transformation has become … Read more »

Celebrating Europe

- John Frank - Vice President for EU Government Affairs

Sixty years ago, on the 25th of March 1957, European politicians gathered in Rome to lay the blueprint for the European Union as we know it today. This momentous occasion ushered in decades of peace and prosperity, and we at Microsoft are proud to join in the Treaties of Rome anniversary celebrations. Our success as a company has been closely linked to the success of the European project. We’ve always … Read more »

B20: The new global economy runs on free flow of data and trust

- Microsoft Corporate Blogs

The German Federal Government took over the G20 Presidency at the end of last year. The economic dialogue B20 is an integral part of the G20 process, representing the entire business community of all G20 members. Its mission is to support the G20 through concrete policy proposals, consolidated representation of interests and expertise. Within the B20 task forces, joint recommendations for action are developed by representatives from trade associations, industry … Read more »

Why we need new rules to deal with cyber (in)security

- John Frank - Vice President for EU Government Affairs

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of joining over 500 political leaders, diplomats, academics, civil society representatives and tech industry colleagues, at the 2017 Munich Security Conference (MSC). As was to be expected given the recent installation of a new U.S. administration, the future of the transatlantic relationship dominated conference discussions – but I was surprised at how the topics of cybersecurity, and insecurity, kept coming up over and over … Read more »

Get GDPR compliant with the Microsoft Cloud

- Brendon Lynch - Chief Privacy Officer, Microsoft

The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the most significant change to European Union (EU) privacy law in two decades. The GDPR requires that organizations respect and protect personal data – no matter where it is sent, processed or stored. Complying with the GDPR will not be easy. To simplify your path to compliance, Microsoft is committing to be GDPR compliant across our cloud services when enforcement begins on … Read more »