Airbus and Deutsche Telekom slam EU cloud data access plan

The plan to allow big tech firms to compete for sensitive EU cloud computing contracts has been met with criticism from Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Airbus, and fifteen other EU firms.

A plan that would let Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet's Google compete for extremely sensitive EU cloud computing contracts has drawn criticism from Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Airbus, and fifteen other EU firms.

The draft plan from Belgium, which is currently in charge of the rotating presidency of the European Union, focuses on a EUCS certification scheme to attest to the cybersecurity of cloud services and assist governments and businesses in the bloc in selecting a reliable and secure provider for their operations. In order for U.S. tech firms to be eligible for the highest level of the EU cybersecurity label, they had to establish a joint venture or work with an EU-based company to store and process consumer data within the bloc. This proposal eliminates the so-called sovereignty requirements from a previous draft.

On April 15, cybersecurity specialists from all 27 EU member states will debate the Belgian proposal; this could open the door for the European Commission to approve the cybersecurity strategy in the fall of the northern hemisphere. Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Airbus, and other corporations have written to senior Commission officials urging EU members to reject a recent plan without sovereignty restrictions, citing the risk of foreign governments accessing European data under their own legislation, such as the Chinese National Intelligence Law or the U.S. Cloud Act.