Course Description

This one-day seminar will address how regulators can foster the development of cloud services by creating policy frameworks that enable nations both to reap the benefits of these services and mitigate some of the risks associated with them. The course will first highlight the key attributes of cloud services, emphasizing the ways in which they alter the policy-making landscape and require different modes of regulation than their predecessors. Participants will discuss the economic and social advantages offered by cloud services and also be encouraged to probe deeply into the sources of concern surrounding these services, particularly issues related to user privacy, data security, and surveillance.

The second segment of the course will focus on different approaches countries have taken for regulating different elements of cloud services and the extent to which each has been successful at promoting the growth and development of these services. Regulations discussed will include issues relating to investment in broadband and mobile data networks, as well as the provision, pricing, interconnection, and expansion of network infrastructure and data centers. In particular, this segment will focus on the most successful strategies for promoting growth of cloud services in emerging and developing economies.

The final segment of the course will look at challenges associated with cloud services and how they may be addressed through regulation. The focus will be on protecting consumer privacy, protecting sensitive information, and understanding implications for surveillance by both domestic and foreign governments. Concrete examples of regulations proposed or implemented by different countries will be discussed, with an emphasis on helping regulators define their goals in each of these areas and design policy approaches suitable for those priorities. Participants will also discuss broader issues surrounding the capabilities and limitations of national laws when it comes to regulating cloud services and consider the role of international cooperation and regulatory harmonization.