Legal and Ethical Issues with Cloud Computing

Unfortunately, as is the case with the potential benefits of cloud technology, the potential legal and ethical issues are also numerous. The first of these surround privacy. The concern held by privacy advocates is that the companies hosting the cloud services have complete control over the communication and data that is stored between user and the host company. Essentially, service providers have a complete hold over the data they are storing, and as such, are responsible for a lot of private information and data (Keith, 2010). Once this is out of the hands of the users, the fear is that it can be used for purposes that the user does not desire, and without permission. As such, there has been a push of late by privacy advocates for a higher level of transparency from the service providers in order to prevent the illegal usage of user information (Security watch, 2012).

            Another ethical concern is that or security. Especially in the realm of business, this concern is what may be delaying an even more rapid adoption of cloud technology. The very fact that data is not being stored in the data centers of businesses means that security concerns are heightened (Keith, 2012). The ability to physically and visually inspect the links and access ports of the storage devices is the only way to absolutely ensure that security is not compromised and that data is not leaked or lost (Keith, 2012). This has the potential to open the door to issues involving data access, data segregation, accountability, and hackers, among others. Because of this, there is an added incentive for service providers to be able to ensure security to their clients (Security Watch, 2012). The main concern is that as the technology continues to improve, criminals will find a way to exploit the new and unaddressed weaknesses in the systems, compromising data.

            The final ethical issue that we will discuss is the idea of sustainability. Cloud technology is assumed to be an environmentally ethical way of storing and accessing data, but the fact is that there is no study to support this idea (Keith, 2012). As it stands, there does not seem to be any less of a carbon footprint left by cloud centers as would be left by various private data centers. The energy consumption of the various cloud datacenters is a concern to ecologists. Their suggestion of renewable energy sources and small compromises in energy consumption in order to reduce environmental impact has been adopted by some providers, but not by most.

            As with any new technology, there are ethical and legal concerns that need to be addressed. Especially as the technology improves and advances, it outruns the current laws. These concerns need to be addressed, and that is what is happening with cloud technology. As it is being more readily adopted, the laws are adjusting to address the concerns of both providers and users. It will never be perfect, but in all likelihood the main concerns will be addressed before this technology is too old.