Amazon will offer its corporate customers the option of running internet services and holding data in Germany as it addresses concerns from European businesses about the threat of online spying in the US.

The retailer's cloud computing arm has unveiled plans to build centres in Frankfurt as businesses and governments in continental Europe have shown increasing alarm at revelations of widespread internet surveillance, exposed by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. US and UK security services were shown to be capable of breaking into the networks of the US's leading technology companies, while there was uproar over revelations that the personal phone of German chancellor Angela Merkel had been tapped.

European companies hoping to gain some protection from this surveillance have demanded that data be held on servers within the EU, which is seen to have stricter data protection laws than elsewhere in the world. Germany in particular has powerful online privacy watchdogs.

Previously, enterprises hoping to build their web operations using Amazon’s pay-as- you-go infrastructure would have used the company’s data centres in Ireland or nine other locations outside the EU.

Andy Jassy, senior vice-president of Amazon Web Services, said the decision was a response to the growth of its European business, but also the “cultural preferences” of companies. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2014)