European Cloud Industry Body Sets Up Data Protection Code of Conduct

On 14 February 2017, the organization Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE) issued a press release that a number of leading cloud computing vendors operating in Europe have declared compliance with the CISPE Data Protection Code of Conduct (the "Code") for some or all their services. All cloud infrastructure services compliant with the Code requirements are listed on the CISPE Public Register. The providers of these services can display a certification mark on their websites to notify their customers of their services' compliance with the Code.

CISPE said that the Code is supposed to guide customers in assessing whether cloud infrastructure services being offered by a particular provider are suitable for the data processing activities that they wish to perform. This includes, in particular, compliance with all EU data protection laws that are applicable and binding on them, including the EU Data Protection Directive and the General Data Protection