FEB 19, 2020 | EUROPEAN UNION
Europe's Data Grab
Politico, February 19, 2020
By Vincent Manancourt
In a trend that has spooked Silicon Valley, senior EU officials are flirting with the idea of forcing companies to store and retain at least some of their data in Europe.
“It’s not in line with EU positioning,” Thomas Boué of the Microsoft-backed trade group the Software Alliance (BSA), said of potential moves to keep data stored in Europe.
The groundswell of support is increasingly putting the tech community on edge, including a newly formed lobby named the Global Data Alliance devoted to protecting free data flows.
According to Boué of BSA, which founded the lobby, comments by EU officials on data localization illustrate why the group is needed. Breton's comments "were not a deciding factor, but they show the alliance is important,” he said.
Original Posting: https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-data-grab-protection-privacy/
ABOUT BSA
BSA | The Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the leading advocate for the global software industry before governments and in the international marketplace. Its members are among the world’s most innovative companies, creating software solutions that help businesses of all sizes in every part of the economy to modernize and grow.
With headquarters in Washington, DC, and operations in more than 30 countries, BSA pioneers compliance programs that promote legal software use and advocates for public policies that foster technology innovation and drive growth in the digital economy.