Official: Cloud Computing Raises Diplomatic Issues
April 15, 2010
| 11:08 AM
Cloud computing is a double-edged sword in the fight for Internet freedom, a top State Department official said on Wednesday. Networks that host software and hardware for multiple companies, people and agencies -- collectively referred to as the cloud -- promote the free exchange of ideas when operated by democracies, Nextgov.com reported.
But when the servers hosting such applications are located in repressive regimes, government officials might lay claim to the information processed through that equipment, including dissidents' personally identifiable information, said Alec Ross, senior adviser for innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"If that e-mail lives in the cloud, who owns that information?" he said. Ross discussed the cloud's potential threat to civil liberties during a conversation with Nextgov, which will air Saturday night on C-SPAN's The Communicators. Ross heads up State's efforts to improve the living standards in foreign countries through new networking applications.
During a major policy speech in January, Clinton announced that Internet freedom would become a strategic priority for the United States in 2010. In March, State revived the Global Internet Freedom Task Force, a Bush administration initiative that worked to harmonize policies departmentwide on protecting free speech. The renamed NetFreedom Task Force met on March 4, when 19 telecommunications and information technology companies discussed the corporate sector's role in facilitating Internet freedom.
"They want a set of standards," Ross said. "What they want is clarity." He noted that Clinton, in her speech, did not call for laws to force companies into changing their business practices, but rather called for shared responsibility.
Ross acknowledged that intervention in global Internet freedom could have negative consequences. Foreign governments could punish U.S. companies or foreign citizens working at a company's overseas offices for not abiding by censorship agreements. For State, the goal is to protect human rights and foster political relationships simultaneously. To read more, click here.
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