[jdietrich]

What legal implications? AWS customers can choose to keep user data wholly within the EU regions, or they can transfer data freely between EU and US regions thanks to Amazon's certification under the EU-US Privacy Shield framework.

One of the great strengths of AWS is their phenomenal compliance department - whatever regulations you're subject to, AWS offer tools, guidance and support to help you maintain compliance. That's one of many, many reasons why AWS is simply incomparable with cheaper cloud offerings from smaller providers.

https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/programs/

[zwaps]

Nobody would or should trust Amazon, an American company, to actually stand by those promises. It will syphon off any trade secrets and other infos, especially if the NSA asks. It has literally happened.

I think after Snowden we should have gotten wise on how much official treaties and promises are worth. Before, this was the thinking of conspiracy nuts. Now it is prudent consideration.

Germans would now, the US literally wiretapped their head of government, and also ran operations to extract trade secrets. Without reprise to this day, by the way.

At end of the day, the new name of the game is America first. Having a EU company handle your data is really an advantage.

US laws and treaties come with and asterisks.

[jryle70]

This is a weak argument, because that prudence should be extended to Lindl as well. Do you think Lindl would resist if Germany intelligence service (BND) asks, no matter how crazy that may sound now? What is implication for a client, says, in France or Poland?

[rakoo]

As a European I'd much rather my data be visible to Germany than the US. We have ties that go beyond commercial agreements, honesty is still something I can believe in concerning Germany, and if all goes bad Germany has far less power over me.

I do agree with you though on the larger point: if caution should be exercised (and it should), then it's safe to assume every byte that goes on a server is to be considered visible to the government that hosts the content _and_ to the government under which the company operates

[type0]

US plays "Big" on surveillance intelligence online. BND and other European agencies could be as invasive when they get free hands, but the difference is the level of patriotism and privacy conciseness of the people running the business. Here I rather choose that my data stays on this side of the pound.

Edit: what I mean is that I expect more willful cooperation from American companies just by the level of available evidence.

[why_only_15]

When has AWS siphoned off trade secrets from S3 or the like? Interested to hear about this because generally i've assumed that was impossible/illegal.

[eru]

Well, it's not physically impossible.

But certainly illegal, certainly against contracts, and really, really bad for business.