Cloud computing and social network services: US leads, Europe loses

Cloud Computing and Social Network Services (SNS) are some of the most controversially discussed IT developments in recent years. Huge expectations exist for Cloud Computing, providing lower costs of computing while increasing employment. However, Cloud Computing as well as Social Network Services may come with a substantial risk of losing data privacy. The project conducted on Cloud Computing Services and Social Network Sites addressed the potential and impacts of these technologies. The project report showed that (1) adequate data security and privacy are critical but difficult to achieve, that (2) more consumer protection is needed and that (3) the market for Cloud Computing is not growing as fast as initially forecast, resulting in a lower than expected increase of employment and lower contribution to GDP growth. The study was carried out between 2012 and 2013 on behalf of the European Parliament’s Science and Technology Options Assessment Panel (STOA) by the Danish Board of Technology (DBT), the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI), the Institute of Technology Assessment of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ITA), the Irish Centre for Cloud Computing and Commerce at Dublin City University (DCU/IC4), and ITAS. In this article, we highlight findings from interviews, literature reviews, and case studies. In addition, selected contributions from a project workshop under the auspices of the 5th European Innovation Summit are presented, conclusions drawn, and finally key policy options presented