FTC RFI Wants Comments on Cloud Competition, Security

The public will have until May 22 to submit comments, which will be posted to Regulations.gov.

The Federal Trade Commission is asking stakeholders to chime in on competition and security among cloud computing providers in several sectors, including healthcare.

Specifically, the Request for Information query asks about “the competitive dynamics of cloud computing, the extent to which certain segments of the economy are reliant on cloud service providers, and the security risks associated with the industry’s business practices,” the FTC says in a media release.

"Large parts of the economy now rely on cloud computing services for a range of services," says Stephanie T. Nguyen, the FTC's Chief Technology Officer. "The RFI is aimed at better understanding the impact of this reliance, the broader competitive dynamics in cloud computing, and potential security risks in the use of cloud."

The FTC wants to learn about:

• The extent to which segments of the economy are reliant on a small handful of cloud service providers;
   
• Whether cloud customers can negotiate their contracts or are stuck with a take-it-or-leave it standard;
   
• Incentives offered cloud customers to get more services from one provider;
   
• The extent to which cloud providers compete on their ability to provide secure storage for customer data;
   
• The types of products or services cloud providers offer based on, dependent on, or related to artificial intelligence; and the extent to which those products or services are proprietary or provider agnostic;
   
• The extent to which cloud providers identify and notify customers of security risks.

The public will have until May 22 to submit comments, which will be posted to Regulations.gov.