Cloud computing has become one of the hottest topic in current IT world. It has lots of advantages, saving resource, saving cost, high performance, etc. However, many legal issues follow it too, such as privacy, security, uptime, storage, transportation, and so on.
As clients, what they care about mostly maybe the security of their data. Where to store it? How to physically get back data at the end of the contract or when the cloud computing platform bankrupt? What measures can be take when transfer data between two suppliers? Even if the contract wrote very clearly about the obligation of the cloud computing supplier, it is possible for them to avoid their liability. We cannot know whether some data left in their servers. Or they shielded the accident happened. Here is a sample of a contract:
• Customer unable to decrease the number of users during a subscription term; remedies for breach of a limited warranty for the services to comply materially with a user guide restricted to termination and refund of pre-paid unused fees;
• Supplier to delete all customer data after 30 days after termination, unless a request for such data is made within such time period by the customer; and
• Provision of minimal obligations around security of a customer’s data. (e.g. supplier will maintain appropriate… safeguards for protection… of customer’s data).
Such kind of items may be difficult for some clients to accept.
The problem is if the security of data could not be totally guaranteed, there is no need to talk about privacy, not mention client confidential. We have to admit, cloud computing is an inevitable trend, even though so many legal issues. So to develop perfect contracts is what we should mostly do.
http://information-security-resources.com/2009/06/17/legal-issues-are-hazy-for-cloud-computing/
http://www.itp.net/573704-uncovering-the-legal-issues-behind-cloud-computing
http://www.llrx.com/features/cloudcomputing.htm
