"Saudi Arabia: Microsoft should suspend data center plans,"

Microsoft should suspend its plans to invest in a new cloud data center in Saudi Arabia until it can demonstrate how it will mitigate potential rights abuses, 18 human right groups said today. There is an enormous risk that Saudi authorities may obtain access to data stored in Microsoft’s cloud data center, thus posing unique and direct threats to human rights and privacy, the human rights groups said.

The Saudi government’s abysmal human rights record, history of infiltrating technology platforms to spy on human rights activists, deployment of sophisticated cyber surveillance software – including spyware – against dissidents, and vague and broad provisions of its anti-cybercrime and data protection laws call into serious question the ability of Microsoft to uphold its human rights responsibilities in the country...