11/22/2015

How Data Centers Are Placed Abroad - The Atlantic

The Strange Geopolitics of the International

Cloud
How cold weather, taxes, and sovereignty dictate the placement of data
centers overseas.

Shipping containers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach

Bob Riha Jr / Reuters

INGRID BURRINGTON
NOV 17, 2015

TECHNOLOGY

Roadtripsarealwaysdefinedbytheplacesthereisn'tenoughtimetosee.
WritingaboutTheCloudthroughthelensofaroadtripistricky,because
thosegapsofthingsunseentendtobeonothercontinents.Thepresumed
technicaladvantageofTheCloudisthatit'saglobalapparatus,andhere
wewerebarelyabletotakeinthelowerforty-eight,barelyabletotakeina
singlecity.Whileour2007ToyotaTacomaunfortunatelycouldnot
traversetheAtlanticOcean,heresaquickoverviewofsomeaspectsof
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/11/the-strange-geopolitics-of-the-international-cloud/416370/?single_page=true

1/5

11/22/2015

How Data Centers Are Placed Abroad - The Atlantic

internationalcloudinfrastructurethatyoumightwanttoknowabout.
Come see where the data lives
Read more

Thethingsthatshapedata-centergeographyoutsidetheU.S.aren'tall
thatdifferentfromthingsthatshapedata-centergeographyintheU.S.In
general,largecompaniesbuildingcloudinfrastructureseekaccesstoland,
andappealingclimatesenvironmental,financial,andpolitical.Places
withhighconcentrationsofInternetexchanges,networkinfrastructure,
U.S.-friendlygovernments,existingtechsectors,orhighlyeducated
populations(Frankfurt,Amsterdam,HongKong,Singapore)become
logicallocationsfordatacenters.ProximitytothisInternetbackbone
reduceslatencyandit'seasiertohirepeopletoworkthere.Scandinavia,a
regionpopularwithcompanieslikeGoogleandFacebook,isn't
particularlyrifewithbackboneordensewithInternetexchanges,butit
makesupforthiswithcoolclimates,accesstohydroelectricand
geothermalpower,andvastexpansesthatinstillbothexistentialdespair
andstoicism.
InthecaseofIreland,itsdata-centereconomyhasbeenfueledinpartby
itscoolclimate,butalsobyits12.5percentcorporatetaxrate,whichhas
ledlotsoftechcompaniestoopenofficesandmoveassetstothecountry.
Inanunusualreversalofthetypicalnarrative,massiveinfrastructural
developmentsarefollowingthedatacenters,withnewsubmarinecables
landinginIrelandtoservethecountry'stechsector.
Climateandlatencyaren'ttheonlyreasonsforacompanytoexpandits
data-centerfootprint.AsTheCloudabsorbsmoreandmoreglobaldata
andthephrasepost-Snowdensoundslessandlesspretentious,there's
increasinginternationalinterestindatasovereignty,theideathata
citizen'spersonaldatastayswithintheircountry'sborders.
Russiaenactedadatasovereigntylawjustlastsummer.Thisrisinginterest
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/11/the-strange-geopolitics-of-the-international-cloud/416370/?single_page=true

2/5

11/22/2015

How Data Centers Are Placed Abroad - The Atlantic

inpersonalcontroloverandlocalizedaccesstodatawasabigfactorin
Microsoft'sdecisiontobuildtwonewdatacentersinGermanywithan
establishedGermandatapartner,DuetscheTelekom.Essentially,
MicrosoftcustomerswhosedataisstoredinthesenewGermandatacenterregionswillbemanagedandmaintainedbyDeutscheTelekom
insteadofMicrosoftbydefault.
Microsoftprobablyknowsbetterthananyothercompanytheimportance
ofdefiningwhohasjurisdictionoveruserdatathey'vebeeninalegal
battleoveritintheU.S.foralmosttwoyears.Attheheartofthecaseis
whethertheU.S.governmenthasjurisdictiontorequestdatalocatedina
datacenterinIrelandifthatdatabelongstoanAmericanMicrosoftuser.
ThegovernmentarguesthatwhereMicrosoftstoresthedataisimmaterial
they'reanAmericancompanyandsinceMicrosoftcanaccessdata
storedanywherewhilephysicallyintheU.S.,itdoesn'tmatterwherethat
data'sstored.Microsoftchallengedthewarrantonthegroundsthata
searchdoesn'thappenatthepointofacessingthedata(inthiscase,inthe
U.S.)butwherethedataisstored.AsofSeptember2015,thechallengeto
thewarrantwasstillindispute.
Technically,theMicrosoftDublinwarrantcaseislessaboutdata
sovereigntyandmoreaboutthematerialessenceofdata.TheAmericangovernmentargumentagainstdatasovereigntytendstobemore
economicsthanmaterialityorevennationalsecurityatleastthat'sthe
argumentmadeinthechapteroftheTrans-PacificPartnershiptrade
agreementthatforbidsmembercountriesfromenactingdata-sovereignty
laws.
Theagreementdoestakepainstosuggestexceptionsfor[ensuring]the
securityandconfidentialityofcommunications,butalsoinsiststhat
countriesnotberequiredtohavedatacentersinmembercountriesin
ordertodobusinessthere(whichisacoolmoveforagovernment
desperatetoholdontothethird-partydoctrine).Similarly,Microsoft's
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/11/the-strange-geopolitics-of-the-international-cloud/416370/?single_page=true

3/5

11/22/2015

How Data Centers Are Placed Abroad - The Atlantic

pressstatementscarefullycouchitsrecentdevelopmentsinGermanyin
thelanguageofchoiceandflexibility,delicatelyframingprivacymoreasa
consumerpreference.

To talk about The Cloud's global shape and politics

is to talk about the planet's shape and politics.
Allthistosaythatmostoftheseexamplesandgeopoliticaldisputesare
still,unfortunately,framedwithinaU.S.-centriclens.Ihaven'teven
gottenintothepoliticalnegotiationsofanendeavorlikeAmazonWeb
Services'sChinaregion,orthatAlibabaalreadyhasdatacentersoperating
inSiliconValley.OrhowtotallybrokenAustralianbroadband
infrastructureis.Orhowmostofthecriteriathatleadstodata-center
developmentinspecificpartsoftheworldalsoskewsawayfromplaces
thatcurrentlylackconnectivity,whereinitiativesliketheFacebook-led
Internet.orgtrytobridgegapsnotwithlong-terminfrastructural
investment,butwithlaserdronesandtiered-accessschemes.Igetdizzy
tryingtoseethiswholething,anditshows.
Inaweirdsortofprologuetothisroadtrip,I'dpickedSamupattheLong
BeachAirport,whichmeantwedrovethroughthePortofLongBeachon
ourwayuptotheUniversityofCalifornia,LosAngeles,andthesupposed
birthplaceoftheInternet.DrivingthroughthePortofLongBeach,the
largestandbusiestportinthecontinentalU.S.,iskindoflikegoingtoa
themeparkforlogisticsenthusiasts.Shippingcontainersstoodinstacks
thesizeofsmallbuildings,sometimesorganizedbycolorandsometimes
inchaos,framedbyflocksofconstructioncranes.AllIwantedtodowas
takethemallin,pauseattheeerieinfrastructuralsublimeofglobalization
andtheinfinitearraysoflogicallyarranged,discreteobjectsonthat
horizon.ButIwastheonedriving,andIhadtokeepdriving.Ionly
glimpsedthegrandeurofthecontainerportperihpherally,constantly
awareofallIwasmissing.
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/11/the-strange-geopolitics-of-the-international-cloud/416370/?single_page=true

4/5

11/22/2015

How Data Centers Are Placed Abroad - The Atlantic

ThisissometimeswhatitisliketotryandtalkaboutTheCloud.Initsown
eye-rollinglyBorgesianway,itmapsbackoutontotheworldwithaone-tooneseamlessness,andtotalkaboutTheCloud'sglobalshapeandpolitics
istotalkabouttheplanet'sshapeandpolitics.Fornow,forthestoriesIset
outtofindandtell,Ihadtokeeptheglobalcloudinmyperipheralvision.
Wehadn'tevenmadeittoIowayet.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
INGRID BURRINGTON is an artist and writer based in New York. She's a fellow at the Data and
Society Research Institute.
previous

next story

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/11/the-strange-geopolitics-of-the-international-cloud/416370/?single_page=true

5/5