Undoubtedly, there isn’t a point in investing a large sum of money so as to purchase a platform that can help you maintain your data when there are several such service providers from where you can outsource, right?
In contrary to any other belief, offloading the hassles of data storage turns out to be much more effective and convenient. Despite everything else, you get to concentrate on your core operations, which simply means more productivity and outcome.
Nevertheless, just like every coin has two sides, the concept of storing personal data into the cloud also comes with contrary perspectives and theories. Out of everything that may seem wrong to an individual, data ownership is something that concerns a majority of them.
On top of everything, over the past few years, incidences of data breaches and compromised security have made the public even more vigilant when uploading anything on the internet today. And, if you care to dig a bit deeper, you may realize that your data is actually not yours completely. Shocking, does it sound?
But, that’s what the fact is. So, who owns your data? Do you have any rights over it? That’s something you must pay heed to before signing up for any service provider.
So, here is everything that you must know about the ownership of your data.
Data Lying in The Wind:
It’s quite evident that cloud service providers store your data typically in varied locations to maintain reliability. However, it’s not comprehensible where exactly is your data store or how many copies of it have been made.
In fact, discovering the precise location of your data stored in the cloud is nothing but an impossible task. There must be only a few cloud service providers allowing users to select the countries where their data should be stored in.
Everybody knows that the extensive range of cloud data servers are located in Ireland and the United States. But, what about the other parts of the world? This simply means that your data could be subjected to different national and international laws.
For example, the data stored in the EU would be subjected to the EU Data Protection Directive. And, companies that are transferring information in and out of the EU must adhere to these directives.
The Role of Cloud Service Provider:
The question of who has authorized rights over your data is a bit complicated. To put it in simple words, if you are creating the data, then you own it. However, your cloud service provider would have the eventual control over it.
If you look closely, you may find this clause in the terms and conditions of several service providers that they get to have a grasp over your data to adhere to it with legal rules and regulations. Without your knowledge or prior permission, certain companies can even pass on your data to government-owned organizations.
However, apart from everything else, your cloud service provider gets the liability when it comes to the security of your data. Therefore, they must take actions to prevent your information from getting misused, especially if it’s sensitive and personal, such as bank details, and more.
Who Owns the Data Anyway?
As far as social media or other storage platforms are concerned, such as DropBox, Facebook, and more, they simply claim that there might be a delay before your data is completely eradicated upon your request. However, what they don’t specify is the timeline of this delay. But, not long before this scenario may change completely.
The European Commission is under the process of updating their regulations so as to offer a more transparent control over personal data stored in the cloud.
Your Data Is Your Data, None of Anyone’s Data:
Whether you’re using a cloud platform for business use or personal, there are always certain factors that you must keep in mind to ensure that you are retaining as many rights as possible currently. So, before finalizing the deal and taking the plunge, ponder upon:
- Read every clause in the agreement carefully to ensure no discrepancies
- Search a bit more before choosing a specific cloud service provider
- Never neglect the power of local backups
- Ensure end-to-end encryption from the service provider
- Know about the location where your data is going to be stored
Final Words:
Of course, there’s a part of the data that you own. However, there’s another such part as well that can be circulated across the globe without your knowledge. Therefore, it’s always recommended to take stringent steps while choosing a cloud storage service provider.
Not just that, but if possible, you can even take the security in your hands, even if the service provider reassures you of the best measurements taken. In the end, you wouldn’t want unnecessary exposure and unwanted companies peeking into your private and sensitive information, right?
