As security concerns dampen enthusiasm for cloud computing among large corporations, several of the major cloud providers are asking lawmakers to pass improved legal protections for online data. Existing privacy laws are unclear, inconsistent and confusing, deterring businesses from embracing cloud services, reports ComputerWorld's Patrick Thibodeau. One reason for concern is the government's wide authority to demand a company's records or other data from a service provider.

To force a service provider to turn over the contents of an email sent more than 180 days earlier, the government needs no more than a subpoena, which does not require a showing of probable cause. However, to demand more recent emails, the government needs to secure a search warrant, which does require a showing of probable cause.

In a hearing before the Judiciary Subcommittee of the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, David Schellhase, executive vice president and general counsel of Salesforce.com, told lawmakers that businesses "want assurances that the U.S. government will not access their data without deliberate due process."

Google's senior counsel, Richard Salgado, said that the government should have to get a search warrant to compel a provider to turn over communications and other records, regardless of how old they are. Law enforcement agencies have argued that the existing legal parameters are effective in helping to fight crime.

For more:
- see Patrick Thibodeau's article at ComputerWorld

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