The cynic in me would argue that EU tax loopholes are intentional, ways around the data retention directive, not so much. I suppose Google might have a secret deal with MI6 or some secret organization that no-one even knows exist (remember when the NSA was referred to as "No Such Agency" ?) - and get an exemption that way - through the "war on terror" back door, so to speak. But my impression is that the EU states prefer the Stasi-way - to have their own illegal secret archives rather than outsource that bit to private enterprises.