Cloud Computing Law: Law Enforcement, Competition, & Tax

Course Overview

Have you ever wondered how a police officer in Europe can obtain evidence from a cloud provider in the USA? Or whether a major cloud provider might abuse its market power? Or in which countries cloud providers pay taxes? If so, then this course is for you! First, we’ll look at how law enforcement agents can request access to cloud data, including data stored outside their borders. You’ll learn to advise cloud providers on responding to access requests and on dealing with potential conflicts with European Union (‘EU’) data protection law. Second, we’ll cover EU competition law, including how to define the relevant market for cloud services and to assess market power. You’ll learn to identify when cloud providers might be found to have entered into anti-competitive agreements, or to have abused a dominant position in a market. Third, we’ll look at how the income from cloud services is taxed. We’ll cover how such income is classified and which countries have the right to tax cloud providers. You’ll learn how tax principles apply to cloud services today, and how this might change in future. In short, we’ll cover how the rules of law enforcement access, competition law, and tax law apply to cloud services – and you’ll discover the practical steps that cloud providers can take to comply with their obligations.