Microsoft pledges to let EU users keep data inside bloc

LONDON (AP) — Microsoft is pledging to allow business and public sector customers in the European Union keep cloud computing data inside the 27-nation bloc to avert concerns about U.S. government access to sensitive information. The American tech giant is responding to customers that want stronger commitments on so-called data residency. Transatlantic data protection has been a growing concern since the European Union’s top court struck down a data sharing agreement last year. It said the agreement, which allowed businesses to transfer data to the U.S. under the EU’s strict data privacy rules, was invalid because it didn’t go far enough to prevent the American government from snooping on user data.