Tech

The US FTC seeks information on the business of cloud computing companies


The Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday that it is seeking information from the public about the business practices of cloud computing companies, including details about market power, competition and their potential security problems.

America cloud computing business is dominated by four suppliers including amazon.com, Microsoft, Alphabet‘S Google And prophesy. None of the companies immediately responded to a request for comment.

“Much of the economy now seems to depend on a handful of cloud providers,” speak FTC President Lina Khan on Twitter. She added that FTC “is seeking public input on how the current market structure and business practices of cloud providers affect competition and data security.”

The FTC and Justice Department under President Joe Biden have taken a strong stance against alleged abuses of market power by challenging multiple mergers, cracking down on so-called “junk fees” and other actions to give consumers a greater say in the services they use. use.

Recently, regulators have begun to focus on the cloud. Europe’s antitrust authority has begun investigating Microsoft’s licensing deals that discourage the use of its rival’s cloud, prompting the company to make changes in October that critics have called insufficient. Fees for pulling data from various providers’ clouds have also drawn scrutiny from smaller players.

FTC staff are concerned about the impact of cloud computing on industries including “health care, finance, transportation, e-commerce, and defense,” according to their press release.

The public will have until May 22 to submit comments on the FTC’s “Request for Information”.

The agency is asking for comment on which segments of the economy depend on certain cloud service providers, details on contract negotiations, incentives to buy more services from one provider, costs details of services provided and information about privacy-related notices.

The Consumer Protection Agency notes that it has targeted companies that do not implement security safeguards to protect data stored on third-party cloud computing services, includes one related to alcohol delivery platform Drizly and another focused on educational technology provider Chegg.

© Thomson Reuters 2023


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