Germany Cancels Verizon Contract In Wake Of US Spying Scandal

German government said on Thursday that it would cancel a contract with Verizon Communications as a service provider because of worries about U.S. spying. Verizon provides Internet services to several German government departments but its contract ends in 2015.

"The federal government wants to win back more technological sovereignty and therefore prefers to work with German companies," Tobias Plate, an interior ministry spokesman, said today at a press conference in Berlin.

Early documents leaked by Edward Snowden revealed that Verizon has provided the NSA with data on U.S. customers every three months. But Verizon denied that this affects its German subsidiary.

"Verizon Germany is a German company and we comply with German law," the company said in a statement. "We have outlined our position on the inability of the U.S. government to access customer data stored outside the U.S. in our policy blog."

The cancellation of Verizon's contract with the German government is one of the first signs that companies in the United States are starting to lose business because of the scandal. Spying contentions have soured relations between the U.S. and other countries as well. China last month suspended its cooperation in a cybersecurity working group with the U.S. after American authorities indicted five Chinese military officials, claiming they stole trade secrets.

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