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There are 3 modules in this course
Have you ever wondered how a police officer in Europe can obtain evidence from a cloud provider in the USA? Or whether a major cloud provider might abuse its market power? Or in which countries cloud providers pay taxes? If so, then this course is for you!
First, we’ll look at how law enforcement agents can request access to cloud data, including data stored outside their borders. You’ll learn to advise cloud providers on responding to access requests and on dealing with potential conflicts with European Union (‘EU’) data protection law.
Second, we’ll cover EU competition law, including how to define the relevant market for cloud services and to assess market power. You’ll learn to identify when cloud providers might be found to have entered into anti-competitive agreements, or to have abused a dominant position in a market.
Third, we’ll look at how the income from cloud services is taxed. We’ll cover how such income is classified and which countries have the right to tax cloud providers. You’ll learn how tax principles apply to cloud services today, and how this might change in future.
In short, we’ll cover how the rules of law enforcement access, competition law, and tax law apply to cloud services – and you’ll discover the practical steps that cloud providers can take to comply with their obligations.
In this course, we cover issues that arise when law enforcement authorities need to access data in the cloud. We consider how the technology itself presents forensic challenges and how different types of data are treated differently by the law. We then focus on issues that law enforcement agents face when they seek data that is controlled by a cloud service provider outside of the territory of the law enforcement authority. We discuss the cooperative mechanisms for law enforcement to obtain cross-border data and the conflicting legal obligations that cloud providers may face in this context. By the end of this week, you'll be able to describe how cloud providers can comply with law enforcement access requests.
Welcome to Law Enforcement Access and the Cloud•2 minutes
Introduction to forensic challenges for digital investigations in the cloud•4 minutes
Introduction to data differentiation•4 minutes
Extraterritorial jurisdiction•5 minutes
Voluntary and mandatory disclosures by cloud service providers•4 minutes
Voluntary and mandatory disclosures and jurisdiction•1 minute
Mutual Legal Assistance•5 minutes
Mutual Recognition•3 minutes
Mutual Trust•4 minutes
Conflicts for Cloud Service Providers •3 minutes
Data Protection and Cloud Service Providers•5 minutes
9 readings•Total 118 minutes
Introducing: Jessica•10 minutes
Glossary of key terms for the week•5 minutes
Forensic challenges in the cloud•10 minutes
Identifying different types of data•10 minutes
Law enforcement powers•15 minutes
International Cooperation•50 minutes
Conflicts for Service Providers in the News•5 minutes
Law Enforcement and Data Protection•10 minutes
A message from your instructor•3 minutes
5 assignments•Total 95 minutes
Forensic challenges•15 minutes
Data differentiation•15 minutes
Jurisdiction•10 minutes
Voluntary and mandatory disclosures•10 minutes
Case Studies•45 minutes
3 discussion prompts•Total 50 minutes
Reflecting on privacy and data differentiation•15 minutes
Reflecting on voluntary disclosures•15 minutes
Reflecting on mutual trust agreements•20 minutes
Competition Law and Cloud Markets
Module 2•5 hours to complete
Module details
In this course, we cover the basics of competition law and examine how it applies to the provision of cloud computing services. Further, we look at what it means to engage in anti-competitive behaviour in cloud markets and the role of competition law in establishing means to prevent or regulate such behaviour. We also explore how interoperability and portability have the ability to both facilitate and hinder competition in the cloud. By the end of this week, you will be able to apply concepts of competition law to practical cases involving cloud services.
How can interoperability support competition?•6 minutes
What is portability?•6 minutes
Could access to data be an essential facility?•6 minutes
How does competition work in digital platforms?•4 minutes
5 readings•Total 88 minutes
Introducing: Ian and Claudia•3 minutes
Identifying market power in cloud services•20 minutes
Applying EU competition law to cloud computing•40 minutes
Interoperability in cloud services•15 minutes
Demand-side measures•10 minutes
6 assignments•Total 120 minutes
Cloud market power•15 minutes
Anti-competitive conduct•15 minutes
Interoperability•15 minutes
Portability•15 minutes
Digital platforms•15 minutes
Case Studies•45 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 30 minutes
Case Study: the Apple App Store•15 minutes
Case Study: Amazon's use of retailer data•15 minutes
Taxing the Cloud
Module 3•6 hours to complete
Module details
This week, we cover the basics of tax law and examine how it applies to the provision of cloud computing services. We start with some basic international tax law concepts, before focusing on the tax treatment of different cloud services. We consider the classification of cloud services for tax purposes and how taxing rights are distributed among different countries. We focus primarily on direct tax, but also briefly refer to indirect tax issues. Furthermore, we look at the challenges digitalization poses to the current international tax framework, and explore how countries and policy-makers have responded to these challenges. By the end of this week, you’ll be able to describe a cloud provider's potential tax liabilities in a hypothetical case study.
Queen Mary University of London is a leading research-intensive university with a difference – one that opens the doors of opportunity to anyone with the potential to succeed. Ranked 117 in the world, the University has over 28000 students and 4400 members of staff. We are a truly global university: over 160 nationalities are represented on our 5 campuses in London, and we also have a presence in Malta, Paris, Athens, Singapore and China. The reach of our education is extended still further through our online provision.
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What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.