The German government has cancelled a contract with US operator Verizon Communications after the revelations last year of US government spying. Following the disclosures by former US government contractor Edward Snowden, which included allegations of eavesdropping by the NSA on Chancellor Anegla Merkel's phone, the German government launched a review of its internal communications and secure government networks. Ending the Verizon contract is one of the first actions involving a US firm to result, Reuters reports.
Verizon has been providing network infrastructure for the German government's Berlin-Bonn network, used for communication between ministries, since 2010. The contract was set to expire in 2015. The government said Deutsche Telekom would replace the services provided by Verizon. DT is already responsible for the most sensitive communications between ministries or between the government and German intelligence agencies.
Detlef Eppig, head of Verizon Germany said the company is German and complies with German law. Verizon said it had not received any demands from the US government in 2013 for data stored in other countries. If it did attempt to acquire such data, Verizon would challenge the matter to court, the company said.
