Google Cloud’s “Sovereign” Data Storage: UK Roots, US Shoots?
Google Cloud is offering UK organizations the chance to keep their Gemini 2.5 Flash AI data within UK borders. But while data stays put, support calls might travel farther than your last vacation. So, how sovereign is sovereign when your data’s safely tucked in but your support call’s gone globetrotting?
Hot Take:
Google Cloud is playing a game of data hide-and-seek with UK customers, offering them the illusion of sovereignty while still being a phone call away from the US CLOUD Act. It’s like the UK’s data is on a staycation, but the babysitter gets to decide the bedtime stories!
Key Points:
- Google Cloud offers UK-only data processing for AI to appease sovereignty concerns.
- Customer support still involves global personnel, raising sovereignty questions.
- Encryption keys provided to customers to control data access.
- Concerns over US CLOUD Act potentially accessing UK-stored data.
- Google Cloud’s response to government requests involves redirecting them to customers.
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