Here at ryco.io, we are constantly listening to both the latest trends and the latest news surrounding all forms of education.
In this article, we want to address the recent ban on Google Suite and Microsoft by the French government. You might have heard the news about this, but we’d like to take a closer look. We’ll explain the situation as well as the implications of this action.
Let’s dive in.
The Ban
We’ll start with the basics for anyone who might be unfamiliar with the situation.
In November 2022, the Ministry of National Education in France announced that free versions of Google Workspace and Microsoft Office 365 would be banned from use in the education system.
Keep in mind that, so far, this ban is only in reference to free versions of these programs. However, cloud services with similar data issues that are paid might also be banned in the near future.
European Data Regulations
The primary concern with these tech firms is that their cloud services do not comply with European data regulations because they store data in the United States.
Here are a few of the strict regulations that have been snowballing in the EU, proving the ban was somewhat inevitable.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) replaced the long-standing Data Protection Directive in 2016 by the European Commission. Essentially, the GDPR is in place to ensure the personal protection of information, as the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights considers the protection of personal data a fundamental human right.
In 2020, a court ruling by the European Court of Justice ruled against the US-EU Privacy Shield Agreement. Although this agreement had originally detailed cross-border sharing of data, the Schrems II ruling stated that European privacy standards were not being met by US law and, therefore, invalidated the initial agreement between the two governing parties.
Central Cloud Policy
In May 2021, the National Commission for Computing and Liberty (CNIL) of France set forth a Central Cloud policy advising the use of only GDPR-compliant cloud services in higher education institutions.
The Response
Naturally, tech behemoths have no choice but to make the next move. Do they pull out of education in the EU or conform to their much stricter policies than those exhibited in the United States?
Microsoft’s Response
Microsoft Cloud Sovereignty Edition was announced by Microsoft in July 2022. This new version of Microsoft offers cloud services in a policy-compliant manner, a service public sector customers have been looking for all along.
To continue this motion towards meeting additional data and safety compliance, the EU Data Boundary by Microsoft is allegedly going to be deployed by the end of the same year, which will allow data regulation-compliant data processing from EU customers.
Google’s Response
Of course, Google had a response to move toward meeting EU data and security protection requirements as well. In October 2022, the transatlantic data privacy framework that was announced in March of that year was directed by data companies as per the executive order of US president Joe Biden.
EU’s Next Move
Following the response of Microsoft and Google in efforts to become more compliant with EU data and security protection requirements, it becomes up to the EU to take steps toward adopting these new rules.
Both Microsoft and Google may be able to win European government computing contracts if these rules are effectively adopted, allowing easier-to-manage data transfers between the EU and US.
The Implications
It’s no secret that some of these goliath tech firms, namely Apple, Google, and Microsoft, are constantly getting heat for issues surrounding privacy and data use. However, international countries are beginning to put their foot down in order to enlist safety measures to protect their children.
Europe’s Concerns with Cloud Data Safety
The move to ban Google Suite and Microsoft from schools in France is yet another reflection of the European concern regarding cloud data safety and other privacy rules.
Philippe Latombe, a French National Assembly member, has been noted saying that there are serious control issues with all cloud data. Furthering this claim, he does not like the idea of the citizens of his country storing their data in cloud services based out of the United States.
France isn’t the first to make movements like these. Germany banned the software suite Microsoft 365 in 2019. Similar to the reasoning behind France’s recent ban, Germany stated that Microsoft was violating the GDPR guidelines.
The United States Department of Justice’s CLOUD Act can be considered the catalyst of all this movement in the EU. According to the CLOUD Act, regardless of where data is stored, US authorities are permitted to view any data held by any US entity. For example, the information being stored by French students utilizing Google cloud services can be viewed by US authorities at any time.
What Does This Mean?
Although it seems clearly defined, the implications of bans like this across the EU create a lot of uncertainty. For educators, they are losing free access to cloud services like Google and Microsoft, the ability to pose a threat unheard of in the education system. Will there be a European tech company to compete?
Alternatively, it leaves us no other choice but to take a look at some of our own privacy and security systems in place here in the US. What information do authorities have to monitor our children? And at what cost?
Final Thoughts
At ryco.io, we stay at the forefront of all things education, including the latest news. We’re watching these bans in Europe closely because we’re curious about what these implications may mean for us here in the United States.
While France recently banned the free versions of Google Suite and Microsoft due to data privacy concerns, they weren’t the first to do so. What’s next for the future of data and privacy security in education?
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