Max Schrems warns US data access risks regardless of server location

Privacy advocate Max Schrems has criticized the security of user data held by major US technology corporations, stating that the physical location of data centers is irrelevant if a US company maintains access. Speaking in an ORF interview, Schrems noted that even if data is stored in local facilities, such as the Google data center currently under construction in Kronstorf, Austria, US intelligence services may still have access to it due to the corporate structure of the operators.

Schrems, the founder of the Vienna-based organization ‘none of your business’ (noyb), argued that the presence of infrastructure on European soil does not provide the level of protection against third-country state surveillance that many users and policymakers expect. He also raised concerns regarding transparency, noting that even technicians at large corporations may struggle to track where data ultimately flows, and criticized the use of data for training artificial intelligence without sufficient regard for legal compliance.