The French minister of national education and youth has said that free versions of Microsoft Office 365 and Google Workspace should not be used in schools – a position that reflects ongoing European concerns about cloud data sovereignty, competition, and privacy rules.French authorities consider Microsoft and Google cloud services that store data in the US to be non-compliant with European data regulations like GDPR and with "Schrems II" – a 2020 ruling [PDF] from the Court of Justice of the European Union governing data sharing across borders.- Germany says nein to Qatari World Cup spyware, err, apps- Instagram fined in Ireland for violating children's privacy- EU puts smart device manufacturers on the hook for cyber security- Country that still uses fax machines wants to lead the world on data standards at G7On September 15, 2021, Nadi Bou Hanna, director of DINUM, France's interministerial digital department, said in a letter that French government agencies considering cloud services to replace office and messaging products on government servers like Exchange should not use Office 365 [PDF] because it does not comply with France's "Cloud at the Center" initiative.Citing the position of DINUM, the prime minister's "Cloud at the Center" policy, and a May 2021 note from the National Commission for Computing and Liberties (CNIL) advising higher education institutions to use GDPR-respecting cloud collaboration services, the Ministry of Education in October 2021 said it advised academies to avoid any deployment of Office 365 or Google Workspace.Last month, president Biden signed an executive order directing US agencies to implement the Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework, announced in March."