EU data protection supervisor sets the standard for data protection with Nextcloud

Post date

February 24, 2023

Categories

Press releases

Author

Jos Poortvliet

Practicing what it preaches, the EDPS deploys Nextcloud for internal collaboration and makes it available to other EU institutions.

The European Data Protection Supervisor, responsible for monitoring and ensuring EU institutions respect the right to privacy and data protection of citizens, announces their internal deployment of Nextcloud. To accelerate the adoption of Nextcloud in the EU, the EDPS and Nextcloud Partner TAS Cloud Services offer other EU institutions, bodies and agencies a collaboration platform compliant with the EU’s data protection law.

Quoting Wojciech Wiewiórowski from the EDPS in their press release: “Open Source Software offers data protection-friendly alternatives to commonly used large-scale cloud service providers that often imply the transfer of individuals’ personal data to non-EU countries. Solutions like this may therefore minimise reliance on monopoly providers and detrimental vendor lock-in. By negotiating a contract with an EU-based provider of cloud services, the EDPS is delivering on its commitments, as set out in its 2020-2024 Strategy, to support EUIs in leading by example to safeguard digital rights and process data responsibly.”

Last year, the EDPS recognized Nextcloud as a great example of privacy-respecting Personal Information Management Systems. This report was part of a wider stream of Nextcloud recommendations from EU organizations and member states like the Swedish, French and German governments.

The EDPS has deployed Nextcloud to “share share files, send messages, make video calls, and allows collaborative drafting, in a secured cloud environment.” (emphasis in original quote). To enable the adoption of Nextcloud in the EU, the EDPS worked with Nextcloud and its partner TAS Cloud Services to improve the integration of Nextcloud with EU login, the European Commission’s user authentication service. The EDPS and TAS Cloud Services will offer other EU institutions, bodies and agencies the same solution as was deployed at EDPS.

Nextcloud offers the easiest way to achieve control and digital sovereignty over data and communication for organizations that deal with sensitive or business critical content. As an open source, on-premises collaboration platform it offers transparency and control no foreign SaaS plaform can deliver. Quoting from the EDPS press release:

By procuring the Open Source Software from one single entity in the EU, the use of sub-processors is avoided. In doing so, the EDPS avoids data transfers to non-EU countries and allows for a more effective control over the processing of personal data.

Interested parties can contact Nextcloud or TAS Cloud Services to deploy a proof of concept of the collaboration platform the EDPS has deployed.

About Nextcloud GmbH

Nextcloud Hub is the industry-leading, fully open source, on-premises team productivity platform, combining the easy user interface of consumer-grade cloud solutions with the security and compliance measures enterprises need. Nextcloud Hub brings together universal access to data through mobile, desktop and web interfaces with next-generation, on-premise secure communication and collaboration features like real-time document editing, chat and video calls, putting them under direct control of IT and integrated with existing infrastructure.

Nextcloud’s easy and quick deployment, open, modular architecture and emphasis on security and advanced federation capabilities enable modern enterprises to leverage their existing file storage assets within and across the borders of their organization. For more information, visit nextcloud.com or follow @nextclouders on Twitter.