Cloud computing causing international tension over privacy laws

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

When it comes to the global cloud, there is no such thing as physical geography, international time zones or even country borders. There are no security checkpoints or border patrols that can prevent information from being leaked, and European countries are beginning to fear privacy violations, especially with North America and Asia dominating the cloud computing industry.

The main fear stems from the U.S. Patriot Act, which allows the United States' government to acquire personal information if there is any potential risk to the safety of the nation, regardless of where the data is stored. Since the United States controls the majority of the cloud market, this means private data could be pulled from cloud servers in the European Union, infringing on Europe's separate privacy laws.

Germany and France have been leading the movement to create national clouds that are isolated from outside interference, which is essentially contrary to the idea of cloud computing. France recently reached a deal with Thales SA to create such a network, while German telecom executives are pushing for a similar deal. Though the initiatives would offer Europe increased privacy, the cloud services market would almost certainly face adversity, as competitors move to less-restricted environments worldwide.