The US Federal Trade Commission will now investigate the risks involved in cloud computing.
The FTC has held a two-day meeting this week to investigate data security in regards to the global economic conditions, and is considering whether it should intervene in the cloud computing industry to address security concerns.
The Electronic Privacy Information Centre has argued that consumers may be at a greater risk of privacy violations because cloud computing data server management is largely unregulated.
“Cloud computing services are rapidly becoming an integral part of the United States economy, with implications for business development, security, and privacy,” EPIC said.
EPIC has also citied a report from ComScore Media Metrix, which shows 26 million consumers have used Google’s Gmail services, and that IT spending on cloud services will reach $US42 billion in 2012.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
