To boost growth and opportunities in cloud computing throughout the European Union (EU), European Commission (EC) Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes called for a coherent, EU-wide strategy that takes advantage of economies of scale and that makes full use of a single European market that transcends national borders. Speaking on Monday to an audience at the Economic Council Symposium in Brussels, Kroes touted the potential of cloud services to “revolutionize public services while ensuring opportunities and recognition for innovators,” adding that such services could provide a substantial boost to the EU economy. While stressing that the EC’s goal with respect to cloud services is “not to over regulate,” Kroes warned of the dangers of adopting a national regulatory approach, stressing: “if we . . . content ourselves with small clouds stuck in small markets, if we lock data within old borders, then we are limiting our cloud ambition.” Within a single, EU-wide market, policy makers, said Kroes, should strive to build trust in cloud services by ensuring the security of networks and that “data is safe and protected online.” According to Kroes, regulators should also ensure there is competition in the market for cloud services and that consumers “aren’t locked in, married to one cloud provider for life.” Acknowledging, “we need to take account of many policy areas,” Kroes told her audience “we should . . . look at them through the lens of the cloud, to ensure a coherent policy area supporting cloud computing.”
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Kroes advocates EU-wide strategy for cloud computing
- Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
- Patrick S. Campbell
- European Union
- June 29 2012
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Sonja Sarantis
Legal Counsel
State Street Bank and Trust Company