The article is about US corporations. Doesn't matter where Cisco hosts the data, the NSA can knock on its door and ask for access.

Do you really think Cisco is going to reply: 'Nope can't do, this data is "on" Germany!'?, when the NSA spies on Merkel herself?

That's why EU and everyone else is waiting for US to pass strong laws that prohibit US gov doing that, and for them to acknowledge the EU laws for data protection, before they can trust US companies at all.

At least if US passes such laws, they know that instead of risking losing all of its foreign customers, Cisco would rather sue the US government next time, backed by those new laws. This is why this reaction is such a good thing. It's exactly what's supposed to happen to end forced backdoors by the NSA into products bought by foreigners.

> That's why EU and everyone else is waiting for US to pass strong laws that prohibit US gov doing that

Thing is, neither the Constitution nor the law was respected, as we've learned. So why should anybody have trust in some politician or President who declares a new law? For agencies like the CIA and the NSA, there is no law.

Given that NSA tapped the phone of the Chancellor, it's not unlikely.