If you’re going to bring on a former Googler as your CEO, you can expect their organizational structure to mimic Google’s as well – This week, Yahoo! users in France received a new, obligatory terms of services agreement which informed them that their user data and payments information will now run through Yahoo! Ireland, the company’s European HQ – users who don’t opt in will lose their accounts, as LeMonde notes.
“Starting March 21st, 2014, our services will be provided by one commone European entity, based in Ireland. This change requires an update to our Terms & Conditions and User Privacy agreement. Your contract, as a user, will be transfered to Yahoo! EMEA” – Email sent to Yahoo! users in France
This is part of of Yahoo! CEO Marissa Meyer’s effort to consolidate Yahoo!’s offices, which traditionally were more focused country-by-country; however the update couldn’t come at a worse time. The French Government is more vigilant than ever in its attempt to tax Internet companies who off-shore their revenue – they’re rumored to be working on a bill that would tax User Data hosted outside of France.
Even worse is the bad blood between the French Government & Yahoo! after their 75% acquisition of Dailymotion was interrupted by the French Government’s insistence that “Dailymotion remain French.”
This is definitely going to put Yahoo! right between the cross hairs of France’s tax authority.