Microsoft vows to protect European operations and unveils data centre expansion

Microsoft’s president Brad Smith speaks at a conference on digital resilience during geopolitical volatility in Brussels (Virginia Mayo/AP)

Microsoft has pledged to fight any US government order to halt data centre operations in Europe as it sought to soothe concerns among European customers that transatlantic tensions would lead to service disruptions.

The company’s president Brad Smith said it is not something that officials are talking about in Washington, DC but it is a “real concern” for Microsoft’s customers across Europe, which include governments.