By Cristina Cabella, Chief Privacy Officer, IBM

I am pleased to announce that IBM today signed up to the EU Data Protection Code of Conduct for Cloud Service Providers with our IBM SoftLayer and IBM Bluemix Infrastructure services.

We are one of the first companies to do so. Signing up our services to the EU Code declares that they go far beyond legal compliance in terms of privacy and security.

The Code of Conduct was recently launched following a thorough four-year development process involving industry and the European Commission. The EU’s Article 29 Working Party, representing EU Member States, has given input. The involvement of European Commission and Data Protection authorities makes this code first of a kind and unique. We consider the Code of Conduct the most reliable tool available to assure cloud users that their data is secure. It will strengthen trust between Cloud providers and Cloud users.

The Code of Conduct is rigorous – companies that sign up must meet all of the Code’s requirements. There is no room for opt-outs or exceptions. Not only does the Code align with the current legal framework for data protection in Europe, but it also brings in elements of the new EU General Data Protection Regulation which comes into force in May next year. This is crucial for Cloud users in understanding how to approach the new Regulation.

As our long history of privacy leadership shows, we understand that security and privacy are essential for trust in the digital economy. We sign up wholeheartedly to this code – and will continue to add more services – as the next step in our commitment to the best standards in Data Privacy.

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Download: IBM in Europe (PDF brochure, 455 KB)

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