undefined | Better HN

0 pointsMichaelGG10y ago0 comments

I don't think so. What it is saying is that if a Vietnam-based cloud company sets up shop, the US cannot mandate that it keep US customer data on US servers. I can see why the US wants this: They want everyone's data in the US. What I cannot see is why anyone else would agree to this.

My guess is that what it really means is that such companies are allowed to operate. OK, fine. But no one is forced to use them. So the US might say "Nice service, Vietnam. But we won't buy it unless you put servers in the US." They aren't forcing anyone to do anything.

0 comments

2 comments · 2 top-level

pjc5010y ago

no one is forced to use them

The end user doesn't get a choice. The US has no general data protection law. Customer loyalty cards, credit records, ad tracking data: all of these may already be kept overseas.

simonh10y ago

But surely there never was any requirement that to sell things to US customers you have to have servers in the US. People in the US have been buying things from Alibaba and other Asian companies based solely in Asia for years. Similarly you could log from the US to Baidu in China and create a personal account full of personal data, and that hasn't changed either. These laws are all about transferring data between jurisdictions, not whether or not you have to operate your services locally.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse