“Cloud computing” describes how computer-related services and software increasingly have been provided over the Internet and other networks since the late 1990s. Each user can access many types of applications and services on demand, regardless of the physical location of his computer. Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned, accessed and updated with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.
1 Examples of common cloud uses are e-mail, e-commerce, and mobile phone apps. The National Institute of Standards and Technology offers a
detailed outline of cloud computing, and the office of the U.S. Federal Government Chief Information Officer has a
video explaining cloud computing.
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1 National Institute of Standards and Technology, see
NIST Definition of Cloud Computing v15.
These issues arise in discussions of cloud computing:
- Increasingly, governments and businesses are looking at moving their internal systems to the cloud to save money and simplify staying up-to-date on technology. The City of Los Angeles and the State of Minnesota recently announced their move to cloud platforms; the U.S. CIO, Vivek Kundra, has been pushing the federal government towards utilizing the cloud with the launch of apps.gov, an aggregator of cloud services for federal agencies.
- The infrastructure needed to provide adequate cloud service is large. Since the major companies that offer “platforms” serving many firms and individual users – Google, Microsoft, and Amazon – have all stated they are moving to the cloud, there are questions about how many other companies will be able to compete in the infrastructure space. However, most agree that barriers to platform and software as a service entry are relatively low.
- As with any new technology, there is debate on the economic impact of the cloud: will this truly be a source of cost savings? What kind of new innovations and businesses will be created?
- As data is increasingly held in a central network location rather than at the user’s premises, there is a growing debate about whether the current regulatory framework is adequate. This is particularly the case for privacy, security, and data ownership; also, as data crosses national borders in the course of traveling the cloud’s network, jurisdictional issues arise.
- As more information flows over the Internet, there is a focus on encouraging the growth and use of broadband services, and on issues of “net neutrality” – that is, whether providers should be allowed to limit high-bandwidth uses in order to ensure reliable Internet access to all subscribers.
TAP Academics researching cloud computing include:
Jacques Cremer of Toulouse University, writing on the impact of the Internet on economic growth and business.
Randall Picker of the University of Chicago School of Law, looking at competition, privacy, and intellectual property in the cloud.
Neil Gandal of Tel Aviv University, writing on computer security, labor, and immigration issues.
Keith Hylton of Boston University, writing on issues relating to competition, property rights, and other “ground rules” online.
Daniel Spulber of the Kellogg School of Management, writing on consumers, electronic commerce, and broadband competition.
Jonathan Zittrain of Harvard Law School, looking at the Internet’s effect on privacy, security and free speech issues.
"Invoking the current mania around cloud computing, where things your computer used to do now happen online, a new class of companies are promoting cloud labor. It could create efficiencies and opportunities that economists hitherto could only dream of. It could also usher in a new era of digital sweatshops."
From his article “Work the New Digital Sweatshops,” Newsweek Magazine
, 12/8/2009Recent Developments
In 2009, $7.2 billion in funding to encourage broadband network deployment was passed as part of the United States’ economic stimulus package. Also, the federal government
intensified efforts to use cloud computing in government, working to resolve security concerns. Many of these efforts will be coordinated through the General Services Administration (GSA). In March 2009, the FTC held a
conference on the implications of cloud computing for privacy. The FCC introduced a controversial
net neutrality proposal in 2009, but by September 2010 had not yet finalized its proceedings. For more on net neutrality please see our
Net Neutrality fact sheet.
Recent hearings on cloud computing include:
- May 5, 2010: House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties hearing on “Electronic Communications Privacy Act Reform.”
- July 1, 2010: House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on “Cloud Computing: Benefits and Risks of Moving Federal IT to the Cloud.”
- September 22, 2010: Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the “Electronic Communications Privacy Act: Promoting Security and Protecting Privacy in the Digital Age.”
- September 23, 2010: House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties hearing on “Electronic Communications Privacy Act Reform and the Revolution in Cloud Computing.”
Upcoming Events
To view a calendar of events of relevance to TAP academic work, please see the
TAP Events page.
