The US Chamber of Commerce and twelve other organizations urged the European Union not to pass regulations that may bar Amazon, Google, Microsoft and other non-EU cloud providers from selling products in the European market.
In a joint industry statement obtained by Reuters, several renowned industry associations and government agencies outline concerns about EU regulations excluding non-EU cloud providers from doing business.
Early Thursday, the statement was forwarded to the European Commission, national governments, cybersecurity agency ENISA and EU legislators.
Cloud sovereignty
The reason for the group’s concerns is a draft proposal from ENISA that suggests introducing an EU certification program for the cybersecurity of cloud services, which would influence how EU governments and businesses choose a cloud provider for their operations.
The draft, seen by Reuters, lays out the conditions for certified cloud service provider (CSP). According to Reuters, the conditions are aimed at preventing and limiting interference from non-EU states with the operation of certified cloud services.
Politics over technology
All cloud service user data would have to be stored and processed in the EU. The EU’s rules would take precedence over those of non-EU nations. “The CSP’s registered head office and global headquarters shall be established in a member state of the EU”, the document read.
In their statement, the US Chamber of Commerce and industry associations argued that the EU should refrain from adopting requirements of a political nature, which would exclude legitimate cloud vendors and do little to strengthen cybersecurity measures.
“These requirements are seemingly designed to ensure that non-EU suppliers cannot access the EU market on an equal footing, thereby preventing European industries and governments from fully benefiting from the offerings of these global suppliers”, the statement reads.
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