Germany ponders new data law that could hit US tech firms hard

Germany may soon require IT companies operating in the country to reveal their software source code and other proprietary data, reports WSJ.

If an upcoming ruling proposed by local politicians passes, American companies hoping to sell their products and services to the German government or tech startups and businesses in Berlin may find themselves in a quandary, as they won’t be able to uphold their promises of maintaining user data privacy when government agencies request access.

The proposed bill appears to be a response to US intelligence agencies’ alleged efforts to spy on European citizens’ digital correspondence, but may also be part of numerous German companies’ plans to develop cloud services locally. Web service providers from the US, like Google and Microsoft, might have to rethink their plans for European markets if this becomes law.

➤ Berlin Weighs Possible Hit to U.S. Tech Firms [The Wall Street Journal, via GigaOm]