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You've Got Mail.Ru: Russian Internet Giant Looks For U.S. Expansion With My.com
- r0h1n 13y agohttp://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/311fabca-5090-11e3-befe-00144feabdc0.html http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/311fabca-5090-11e3-befe-00144... "Mr Grishin said the data centres for its US services would be based in the Netherlands, which he said was a “good neutral place” outside of the US and Russia that was “very liberal” and “respected globally”. US internet companies have come under fire for handing over private data to US authorities since Edward Snowden leaked documents detailing a mass NSA surveillance programme earlier this year. Many technology companies insist they simply comply with the law and have even spoken out against reported attempts to siphon off information about their users. The Netherlands has robust data protection laws and a broad definition of what constitutes personal data, as well as some large data centres. However, some privacy experts say keeping the data offshore would not be enough to stop the NSA accessing it. Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy in the US, said the data may be more secure in Europe but the problem was it had to be shipped from the US. “I don’t think it keeps it from the NSA at all because the data are collected here and shipped to the cloud, it doesn’t make a difference where it goes,” he said. “The NSA can access it during the transportation process.” James Lewis, a security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said: “The location of the server makes absolutely no difference, particularly for Russian companies that have very close relations with their security services. Ask Snowden if he feels like his email is safer.”