Fu Yun Chi
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A proposed cybersecurity certification scheme (EUCS) for cloud services should not discriminate against Amazon (NASDAQ:), Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:) Google and Microsoft (NASDAQ:), 26 industry groups across Europe warned on Monday.
The European Commission, the EU cybersecurity agency ENISA and EU countries will meet on Tuesday to discuss the scheme, which has undergone several changes since ENISA introduced the draft in 2020.
EUCS is designed to help governments and companies choose a secure and reliable provider for their cloud computing business. The global cloud computing industry generates billions of euros in annual revenue, with double-digit growth expected.
The March version eliminated so-called sovereignty requirements from the previous proposal, which would have required U.S. tech giants to form a joint venture or partner with an EU company to store and process customer data in the bloc to qualify for the highest tier. EU Cybersecurity Mark.
“We believe that an inclusive and non-discriminatory EUCS that supports the free movement of cloud services in Europe will help our members prosper at home and abroad, contribute to Europe’s digital ambitions and strengthen its resilience and security,” the groups said in a release. joint letter to EU countries.
“Removing both ownership controls and PUA/non-EU law immunity (INL) requirements will ensure that cloud security improvements are consistent with industry best practices and non-discrimination principles,” they said. .
The groups said it is critical that their members have access to a diverse range of resilient cloud technologies tailored to their specific needs in order to thrive in an increasingly competitive global market.
The letter was signed by the American Chamber of Commerce of the EU in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Norway, Romania and Spain, as well as the European Federation of Payment Institutions.
The letter was also signed by the Czech Industrial Confederation, the Danish Dansk Industry, the German Bundesverband deutscher Banken, the Digital Poland Association, the Irish business lobby group IBEC, the Dutch NL Digital and the Spanish Startup Association.
EU cloud providers such as Deutsche Telekom (OTC:), Orange and Airbus are pushing to introduce sovereignty requirements into the EUCS over concerns that non-EU governments could gain illegal access to Europeans’ data under their laws .