A few of France’s most delicate state and company knowledge could be safely saved utilizing the cloud computing know-how developed by Alphabet’s Google and Microsoft, whether it is licensed to French firms, the federal government mentioned on Monday.
The remark, a part of strategic plan laid out by French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and two different ministers, acknowledges U.S. technological superiority within the subject and contrasts with earlier calls from European politicians for absolutely homegrown alternate options.
Google and Microsoft, together with market chief Amazon, dominate the realm of knowledge storage worldwide, fuelling considerations in Europe over the chance of surveillance by the US within the wake of the adoption of the US CLOUD Act of 2018.
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But a “reliable” cloud computing various could be developed inside Europe, Le Maire mentioned, by guaranteeing the placement of servers on French soil in addition to European possession of the businesses that retailer and course of the information.
“We due to this fact determined that one of the best firms – I am considering particularly of Microsoft or Google – may license all or a part of their know-how to French firms,” Le Maire mentioned at a information convention. He didn’t point out Amazon.
Google mentioned it welcomed the “clarification” supplied by the French authorities, including that it supported “the necessity for the best safety ranges”.
Microsoft mentioned this was excellent news for France’s digital transformation “in full independence”.
Amazon’s cloud unit has been collaborating by way of partnerships with a number of main French firms, together with state-controlled telecoms agency Orange, its basic supervisor in France Julien Groues instructed Reuters.
“That is one thing that we have been doing for a few years,” he mentioned.
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Le Maire in contrast the licences he talked about with those seen within the Nineteen Sixties within the subject of the civil nuclear vitality between France and the US.
A so-called “reliable cloud” label could be delivered to the businesses that supply cloud computing companies that respect the rules spoken of by Le Maire, and different circumstances set by France’s cybersecurity company ANSSI.
OVHcloud and Dassault Systemes’ Outscale are two French firms that already fulfil these standards. OVHcloud mentioned late final yr it had partnered with Google to construct its cloud computing capacities.
“We… hope that different Franco-American alliances will emerge on this space, which can permit us to have one of the best know-how whereas guaranteeing the independence of French knowledge,” mentioned Minister for Digital Affairs Cedric O.
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