EU To Tighten Curbs On Data Transfers Via Cloud Services

Cloud services providers such as Amazon and Microsoft and other data processing service providers must set up safeguards against illegal data transfers to non-EU governments, according to the European Commission’s Data Act to be published this month.

The proposed rule, seen by Reuters, sets out rights and obligations on the use of EU data such as smart machinery and consumer goods, and is part of a raft of legislations aimed at reining in US tech giants and helping the bloc meet its green and digital objectives.

EU concerns about data transfers have been growing ever since former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden’s revelations in 2013 of mass US surveillance.

Europe’s top court in 2020 scrapped a transatlantic data transfer deal known as the Privacy Shield and relied on by thousands of companies for services ranging from cloud infrastructure to payroll and finance because of similar concerns.

The United States and the EU have been trying to come up with a new pact in the two years since then US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said she was confident there would be a new accord which takes into account the EU court’s concerns.

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