How much privacy do clouds provide? An Australian perspective

Cloud computing is becoming the standard operating process, communications system and underlying infrastructure of the Internet. This is of paradigm-shifting significance to the law. Multinationals, such as Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft, own and operate the cloud computing infrastructure of the Internet as well as influencing its culture. They have been called the Four Horsemen of Technology and consider Microsoft their inspiration.1 Business can now be transacted at the speed of thought. The digital nervous system that Bill Gates envisioned is blossoming as cloud computing. However, sovereign nations can no longer effectively regulate the telecommunications systems within their borders without the tacit compliance of these cloud operating multinationals. The aim of this paper is to determine whether or not cloud computing infrastructure can support privacy regulation yet remain practical.