The long arm of the US reaches into the European cloud

iGuRu.gr > The long arm of the US reaches into the European cloud

The debate about Europe's digital sovereignty and the strategic use of US cloud infrastructure in sensitive areas is gaining new momentum.

An unpublished expert opinion, prepared by legal academics at the University of Cologne on behalf of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, has been made publicly accessible under the Freedom of Information Act (IFG). The opinion concludes that US authorities have extensive access to data even when it is stored in European data centers.

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The experts undertook to clarify whether and to what extent US intelligence agencies and other government agencies have a legal right to access data in the cloud, even if the infrastructure operates outside the United States.

According to the opinion, the Stored Communications Act (SCA), expanded by the Cloud Act, and Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), in particular, allow US authorities to compel cloud providers to hand over data.

A sensitive point is the finding with the scope of US jurisdiction. Companies are obliged to hand over data even if it is stored outside the US. The decisive factor is therefore not the physical location of the information, but the control over it by the company that stores it. This means that even data stored in data centers on European territory and managed through European subsidiaries is subject to access.

However, the reach of American laws does not end here.

According to the opinion, the jurisdiction of the United States may affect not only the European subsidiaries of American companies. It also has the potential to affect purely European companies, provided that they maintain relevant business connections in the United States. This extends the risk of indirect or direct access to data to a wide range of companies operating in the European internal market.