> I understand the hope is that companies will comply rather than forego the entire European market, but if they don't, the last consequence is ultimately on th

> I understand the hope is that companies will comply rather than forego the entire European market, but if they don't, the last consequence is ultimately on the consumer, not the company. This is one hope sure but at least in Germany the simple thing about it is that people don't want to lose control over their data if they don't have to (we even have a word for it: "Datensparsamkeit" = data econonomy/thriftiness). If that means that some German company won't be able to use O365, so be it. Only few here will care what happens to Microsoft because of this. It's not about Microsoft. It's about people who use it (and/or force you to use it). I don't see a downside here. There are other solutions within the Microsoft product portfolio and outside. The fact that a government agency looks it up and gives you a result saves you actually money because you don't have to hire somebody to check that for you and save you from lawsuits. It's a service you already paid for with your taxes. I don't see the problem here either.