IT Laws in the Era of Cloud-Computing: A Comparative Analysis between EU and US Law on the Case Study of Data Protection and Privacy

This book documents the findings and recommendations of research into the question of how IT laws should develop on the understanding that today's information and communication technology is shaped by cloud computing, which lies at the foundations of contemporary and future IT as its most widespread enabler. In particular, this study develops on both a comparative and an interdisciplinary axis, i.e. comparatively by examining EU and US law, and on an interdisciplinary level by dealing with law and IT. Focusing on the study of data protection and privacy in cloud environments, the book examines three main challenges on the road towards more efficient cloud computing regulation: -understanding the reasons behind the development of diverging legal structures and schools of thought on IT law -ensuring privacy and security in digital clouds -converging regulatory approaches to digital clouds in the hope of more harmonised IT laws in the future.

Cloud computing : a historical and technical overview -- EU vs. US : the two major schools of thought regarding internet and privacy regulation and why they took divergent paths. Can this distance be bridged in the context of a regulatory framework for the cloud? -- An introduction to the definition of cloud computing under EU law and the challenges it poses -- Legal pluralism and harmonization : how can we reach a common minimum understanding on how to regulate the cloud? -- Jurisdiction and accountability in the cloud -- Risks and compliance in cloud computing environments : views from Europe and the USA -- Principles for regulating the cloud (1); conclusions from the ontology of cloud computing networks -- Principles for regulating the cloud (2); based on the roles and functions across the cloud workflow -- Principles for regulating the cloud (3); the adoption of cloud computing regulation as the big leap forward from governing to governance in IT law.