Why Microsoft Office is getting banned in some countries

Microsoft

Microsoft Office is used in schools, offices, and homes all over the world. But now, some countries in Europe are starting to ban it from their government systems. Why? They want more control over their own data.

In Germany, the state of Schleswig-Holstein has decided to stop using Microsoft Teams and other Microsoft software for government work. This means around 30,000 workers—including police officers and judges—will switch to open-source software like LibreOffice (instead of Word) and Open-Xchange (instead of Outlook) in the next few months.

The main reason behind this is that the German government wants to keep its data safe and stored inside the country. “We’re done with Teams,” Dirk Schroedter, the state’s digital minister, told AFP. He added that the war in Ukraine made countries realise they need to be more independent not just with energy, but also with technology.

Denmark is making a similar move. The Danish government has started replacing Microsoft Office with LibreOffice. Some big cities like Copenhagen have already begun the switch. They worry that political issues especially with the United States could one day stop them from accessing important tools and data.

For example, there were reports that Microsoft once blocked a top international prosecutor from using his email after political pressure from the U.S. While Microsoft denied doing it on purpose, the incident raised concerns in Europe.

There’s also the money factor. In Copenhagen, the cost of Microsoft software went up by 72% in just five years. So switching to free, open-source tools could help save money too.

Of course, switching away from Microsoft won’t be easy. Some experts think it’s not possible to fully replace Microsoft software. But countries like Germany and Denmark believe it’s worth trying so they can protect their data and be less dependent on big U.S. tech companies.