While the EU Cloud Code of Conduct is still pending the official approval of European Data Protection Board (EDPB), members of the General Assembly of the EU Cloud Code of Conduct are able to declare that their cloud services adhere to the Code after robust monitoring under principles and procedures of the EU Cloud Code of Conduct, pending the formal endorsement of the Code and the official approval by supervisory authorities.
The affirmation follows fierce efforts to ensure Alibaba Cloud services comply with the transparency and privacy protection requirements in Europe, and constitutes an important milestone in the company’s journey to verifiably align with GDPR. The cloud services confirmed to be in compliance to the Code of Conduct are transparently listed in thePublic Register, and supported by a public verification report. Cloud service families, relying on the same technical and organizational as well as contractual framework, ease a Cloud Service Provider’s declaration of adherence as cloud services will be assessed collectively.
“As a founding member of the EU Code of Conduct for Cloud, this achievement is yet another demonstration of Alibaba Cloud’s commitment to providing high-quality and trusted cloud services meeting the world-leading standards of data protection for consumers and businesses under the GDPR. We will continue working with other industry players to advance and promote the healthy development of the cloud for the benefit of all,” said Selina Yuan, President of International Business, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.
“This verification of adherence is another proof of concept for our monitoring scheme, which applies strong safeguards to ensure that declared services are meeting all requirements set out in the Code. The declaration of adherence of Alibaba Cloud also shows that our chosen approach to enable companies to partially support Code compliance by independent third-party certificates and audits is an attractive tool for the market”, said Jörn Wittmann, Managing Director of SCOPE Europe, the Code’s independent Monitoring Body.
Alibaba Cloud has joined the EU Cloud Code of Conduct in 2017 as a founding member. To date, the leading industry body has 14 members, representing European and multinational companies and organizations as well as small- and medium-sized providers. Alibaba Cloud currently has 63 availability zones in 21 regions, serving millions of customers across the globe. It has more than 70 security and compliance accreditations worldwide.