Neelie Kroes calls for stronger cloud computing regulations

Neelie Kroes, the vice president for the Digital Agenda, has outlined her belief that cloud computing needs stronger regulations in order to ensure its continued growth. Kroes said in a

Kroes said in a blog post that the European Commission and governments need to work together to create the necessary laws for cloud computing to give it the protection of the "real teeth only public authorities have".

"Freedom of expression, the protection of privacy and personal data, net neutrality and the preservation of an open internet - these and other issues are fundamentally public policy issues," she said.

"Who will be liable if something goes wrong in the cloud and data is lost or compromised? Which rules and which jurisdiction will apply? These are not questions that 'codes of conduct' on their own can answer in a satisfactory way."

Kroes also said that stronger regulations would help governments to scale up pilot projects in the use of cloud computing to emulate how the US authorities are using the technology.

This would drive the cost savings that cloud computing can offer, while clarifying the rules around governance would ensure that innovation could thrive.

"The internet has grown to be wonderful and useful because it has not suffered from undue regulation. But an internet without rules can also hold back users and investors if they lack confidence," Kroes warned.

Finally, Kroes said that more needed to be done to create a single technical standard for APIs and data formats to "enhance interoperability and competition between cloud providers".