Computers Without Borders: Cloud Computing and Political Manipulation

Cloud computing is one of the latest buzzwords to circulate through social media circles. Cloud computing could be the key to a true global society and economic growth, but international politics is holding it back. Defining cloud computing to someone who doesn't live and breathe the heady air of the Web 2.0 bubble can be difficult. Explaining why it is affected by international borders and political issues demands an understanding of what cloud computing is.

Cloud computing is a concept of decentralized, readily available data and collaboration. The idea of cloud computing is what allows me to freelance, working largely from home. No longer do I have to find a finite data center to get the answers that I need – I can reach into the atmosphere of the internet and figuratively pluck them from the vast cloud of distributed data.

The internet serves as the backbone for the cloud computing idea as it stands today, though I would say the first time cloud computing was applied in the real world were the first computer networks sharing a data load. Later you could see it take a natural progression with such global projects as the Human Genome Project and NASA's star mapping project. People are often confused by cloud computing, because it is an intangible concept that is ever evolving. That is the beauty of the cloud – it has malleability.

In order for cloud computing to continue to evolve into the borderless, unbiased global tool that it could be, it needs to be separated from politics. Currently, countries like China and the United States are making laws that are having a negative ripple effect on the development of the global cloud, and thus a negative effect on the enrichment of the global economy.

Take, for example, the United States. It's ill-conceived Patriot Act is having far reaching consequences to companies operating under its umbrella. Canada has recently asked that its government not use computers in the global network that are operating within United States borders, because the Canadian data stored on those computers could conceivably be negatively impacted by the repercussions of the Patriot Act.

How does this negatively impact the economy here in the States? Think about the companies who base all or part of their income on providing accessible storage for data to enable remote computing – a cornerstone concept of cloud computing. Whether it is the little company like eSilo who does small scale data storage and backup or the massive Amazon S3 service that acts as the backbone for popular cloud based applications like Twitter, those bottom lines are affected when their potential customer base is restricted.

Cloud computing depends largely on global politics to survive. Imagine if the telecommunications companies here in the States get their way and do away with the current internet standard of network neutrality completely. Having data throttled and information filtered goes against the basic concept of cloud computing and global knowledge. You can't have a working cloud of information and services to draw from and build on if someone or something is constantly manipulating the data held within it, or worse, blocking it from your view to achieve a hidden agenda.

Politics are affecting the scalability of the internet, the availability of internet access, the free flow of information and the cloud based global economy on a daily basis. We already know that the concept works – it was instrumental in crunching the massive amounts of data needed to complete the gene mapping Humane Genome Project. That project has netted answers to the question of where hundreds of diseases and traits come from, and would not have been possible in such a short time without the computer sharing allowed by cloud computing and available internet.

Other project depend on cloud computing overcoming politics to be successful as well. What good is One Laptop Per Child bringing laptops to remote areas of poor countries (including our own) if there is no internet cloud of information, applications and services for the computers to access? How will it help these countries overcome hardship if they get cut off from the flow of information and the global economy because a bureaucrat in a suit thousands of miles and several time zones away is closing access to a data port to keep citizens in his country in the dark about political maneuvering?

Cloud computing is a vague concept, but an important one. It is vital to the growth and flow of the economy for future generations. The only way to fight the negative effect of international politics on the availability and growth of cloud computing is to attack it one issue at a time. Take a moment wherever you are to find out what your country or state is doing to promote network neutrality and a free and unbiased internet, and work behind the scenes to keep that cloud afloat for the future economies of the world.