The German Data Protection Conference (DSK) has banned the use of Microsoft Office 365 in German schools over an alleged lack of transparency about how personal data is processed, and the potential for third-party access to it.

The ban has also been issued because the DSK believes the use O365 is not legally compliant with GDPR, i.e. it may not be possible for outside regulators to assess what information Microsoft is collecting, and how it is using the data.

Microsoft says that the DSK’s concerns don’t adequately take into account of changes it’s already made to its systems; transparency standards already exceed others in the sector, plus it will provide documentation and more information relating to transparency.