

You've Got Mail.Ru: Russian Internet Giant Looks For U.S. Expansion With My.com - r0h1n
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2013/11/19/youve-got-mail-ru-russian-internet-looks-to-u-s-for-expansion-with-my-com/

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r0h1n
[http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/311fabca-5090-11e3-befe-00144...](http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/311fabca-5090-11e3-befe-00144feabdc0.html)

 _" 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.”_

