CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act)

Definition:

The CLOUD Act is a US law that has been in force since March 23, 2018. It requires US IT companies and their subsidiaries to provide stored data to US authorities upon request – regardless of whether that data is located in the US or abroad. This gives the law extraterritorial effect and can come into conflict with the data protection laws of other countries, in particular the GDPR.

Disadvantages:

• Contradicts the GDPR and can lead to legal conflicts
• Enables US authorities to access sensitive data without the consent of the country concerned
• Companies outside the US that work with US providers may be involuntarily affected

Relation to OpenTalk:

As a European open source video conferencing solution, OpenTalk is not subject to the CLOUD Act because it is not developed or operated by a US company. This offers companies and public authorities a data protection-friendly alternative to US-based cloud services.