Google has revamped its contracts for European Apps customers to help meet data protection regulations in the region.
The company says it will offer model contract clauses, which will basically outline how the company will process its customer data. This will help ensure companies meet all necessary requirements when moving data around, particularly if it is moving to a country that does not meet certain regulatory requirements.
"We’re pleased to announce that Google will soon offer model contract clauses as an additional means of meeting the adequacy and security requirements of the European Commission’s Data Protection Directive for our customers who operate within Europe," Marc Crandall, senior manager of global compliance, Google Enterprise, said on the company’s blog.
"The Directive is an important piece of privacy legislation passed by the European Union (EU) in 1995. It restricts the movement of data from the EU to non-EU countries that do not meet the EU ‘adequacy’ standard for privacy protection," he added.
The news comes not long after Google announced its Apps for Business suite had been certified to the ISO 27001 security standard.
Google says the certification covers its entire systems, technology, processes and data centres serving Google Apps for Business. The move is part of Google’s attempts to convinced potential customers that their data will be safe on Google’s cloud.
"Over four million businesses use Google Apps for enterprise needs, and as this number grows, we want to offer our customers a diverse range of compliance options to help them meet their regulatory requirements," Crandall added.
