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Last week we told you about Microsoft's admission that, if compelled by the U.S. Patriot act, the company would hand over data stored outside the U.S. to U.S. authorities. The Patriot Act requires that U.S. companies comply with requests for information, even if that information is stored overseas, and companies may be required to provide that information to U.S. authorities without notifying customers that data was being accessed.

This week some further complication was added to the matter: Computer World reports that European Union officials believe the Patriot Act conflicts with the Data Protection Directive, which requires organizations to inform users when personal information is disclosed.