Protecting innovation in the cloud

- Brad Smith - President and Chief Legal Officer

Rapid advancements in cloud computing are creating new capabilities, insights and efficiencies, allowing businesses big and small to transform the way they deliver products and services. As this transformation accelerates, virtually every company in every sector of the economy is becoming in part a digital business. And as a digital business, it must master the new legal challenges that come with participation in the booming digital economy.

Staying civil online

- Adina Braha-Honciuc - Government Affairs Manager – Accessibility, Sustainability and Environment Policy

On the occasion of Safer Internet Day 2017, Microsoft has published its first Digital Civility Index showing people’s perceptions of online behaviors and interactions in 14 different countries. The results demonstrate an urgent need to reinforce a culture of digital civility and promote effective public policies that protect people online, and we are encouraging people to take Microsoft’s “Digital Civility Challenge”. It’s no coincidence that the same adjective that relates … Read more »

Brad Smith speaks on rules for the digital economy at DLD Munich

- Microsoft Corporate Blogs

“We need a new generation of law; one that will match technology, ensure technology is global, and ensure people’s rights are respected.” This was the rallying cry from Microsoft’s President and Chief Legal Officer, Brad Smith, speaking at the DLD conference in Munich yesterday. Smith joined David Kirkpatrick, founder, host, and CEO of Techonomy, to discuss the rights and responsibilities of global technology companies in the cloud era, and to … Read more »

Laying the foundations for a data-driven European economy

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

Less than two weeks into the New Year, and we have our first digital milestone moment of 2017. Yesterday saw the presentation of the final building blocks for Europe’s Digital Single Market: the European Commission’s Communication on Building a European Data Economy, the proposed Regulation on Privacy and Electronic Communications, and a Communication on Exchanging and Protecting Personal Data in a Globalised World. All of these initiatives will help Europe … Read more »

A lack of cybernorms threatens Western democracies

- Sinan Ülgen - Visiting Scholar, Carnegie Europe

Election season has upended cybernorms. It all started before the 2016 U.S. presidential election when U.S. officials alleged that Russia had hacked the Democratic National Committee and orchestrated cyberattacks to influence the electoral outcome. “The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from U.S. persons and institutions, including from U.S. political organizations,” read a joint statement from the U.S. Department of … Read more »

European Commission clears Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn; deal to close in coming days

- Microsoft Corporate Blogs

The European Commission announced Tuesday in Brussels that it has cleared Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn. Microsoft has now obtained all the regulatory approvals needed to complete the acquisition, and the deal will close in the coming days. Tuesday’s clearance follows similar reviews and approvals in the United States, Canada, Brazil and South Africa. As part of discussions with the European Commission, Microsoft formalized several commitments regarding its support for third-party … Read more »

Opening new doors with technology for people with disabilities

- Microsoft Corporate Blogs

With 2016’s United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) fresh in our minds, we’re reflecting on how we can build a more inclusive society for the almost 15% of the world’s population living with a disability. At Microsoft, we believe technology should empower people to achieve more. While we’ve got more work to do, we’ve made progress over the last year towards making Microsoft’s products more accessible. You … Read more »

Microsoft’s commitment to moving technology forward without leaving timeless values behind

- Dervish Tayyip - Assistant General Counsel, Microsoft

The prevailing sentiment at the Internet & Social Media Law conference which took place in London this week was the importance of ensuring rules of conduct and laws for new technologies that respect timeless rights and values. There was a lot of discussion about the need to ensure that the kinds of traditional protections that we have all had, not just for years but for centuries, for information that is … Read more »

Tackling the skills shortage: our new 5 million commitment

- Sylvie Laffarge - Director Philanthropies Europe

Today sees the launch of the European Commission’s new Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition, which aims to develop an inclusive digital talent pool for the jobs of the future. With the world of work set to be transformed by the digital revolution and cloud-based technologies, equipping young people with the digital skills needed in the 21st century labor market is as pressing as ever. That’s why, as part of our … Read more »

Unlocking Europe’s potential via STEM education

- Regina Murray - Senior Director EMEA, Microsoft Education

When economists or labor market forecasters speculate about the future of work in Europe, it’s clear that science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills will play a major role. An increasing number of jobs – many of which haven’t even been invented yet – will come to depend on STEM skills, and such careers are among the fastest growing worldwide. Technology-related professions in particular look set to skyrocket, with computer … Read more »