The European Union is considering legislation that would restrict the use of US cloud providers to manage sensitive data by its member governments. they told CNBC sources familiar with the talks.
The European Commission – the EU’s executive arm – is expected to present the “Tech Sovereignty Package” on May 27, which will include a series of measures aimed at strengthening the bloc’s strategic autonomy in key digital areas.
As part of preparations for this package, discussions are underway within the Commission to limit the exposure of sensitive public sector data to cloud platforms provided by companies outside the EU, two Commission officials, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not authorized to discuss private conversations, told CNBC.
“The basic idea is to define domains that should be hosted in a European capacity cloud,” said one of the officials.
They added that companies providing cloud solutions from third countries, including the United States, could be affected. The proposals would not completely ban foreign companies’ cloud platforms from government contracts, but would restrict their use in processing sensitive data by public sector organizations, depending on the level of sensitivity, the officials added, adding that talks are ongoing and have not been finalized.
Officials told CNBC that there are discussions about the proposal that financial, judicial and health data processed by governments and public sector organizations require very high levels of infrastructure of a sovereign cloud.
Although the press releases will range from very select to rare, I said I'd pass...because sometimes the editors hide.
