Microsoft has found Office 365 banned from use in at least some German schools due to privacy concerns over the way its cloud service works.
Privacy regulators have also ruled out the use of either Google Docs or Apple’s iWork suite for the same reason …
TNW reports that the service has been ruled illegal by one German state, as earlier noted by WinBuzz.
The issue is not specifically the storage of school documents on cloud services – that in itself is ok provided that proper steps are taken to comply with GDPR requirements, as HDMI says.
The Hesse Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (HBDI) ruled that using the popular cloud platform’s standard configuration exposes personal information about students and teachers “to potential access by US authorities.”
The problem, says the regulator, is that telemetry data is sent out of Germany to the US, and this can include personal data.
In principle, consent could allow this data to be sent, but children are not able to give their consent in law, so Office 365 cannot be used. In even worse news for Microsoft, the watchdog organization says that the same is true for Windows 10.
Collection of such information is a violation of GDPR laws that came into effect last May.
The situation poses a problem for schools because they are not currently allowed to switch to either Google Docs or Apple’s iWork suite either.
With Office 365 banned, schools have been asked to use local versions only of Microsoft Office, rather than the cloud-based platform.
Although the ruling has so far been made by only one state in Germany, it seems likely that the same issue would apply across the country.
Uodate: Microsoft told us:
Update August 2:
Photo: Shutterstock
