Microsoft, Amazon and Google have announced “Trusted Cloud Principles,” an industry initiative aimed at protecting customer rights in the cloud.

With the rise of cloud computing, there are a number of issues that cloud companies and regulators are grappling with, not the least of which is privacy. Different jurisdictions have different privacy laws and requirements, making it a challenge for cloud companies to do business internationally.

The three largest cloud providers — Amazon, Microsoft and Google — have created a set of Trusted Cloud Principles designed to help govern how cloud companies should operate. The initiative also has the support of Atlassian, Cisco, IBM, Salesforce and Slack.

Through this initiative we seek to partner with governments around the world to resolve international conflicts of law that impede innovation, #security, and #privacy, and to establish and ensure basic protections for organizations that store and process data in the #cloud. Through this initiative, we commit to working with governments to ensure the free flow of data, to promote public safety, and to protect privacy and data security in the #cloud.

The initiative’s website clearly outlines the group’s mission statement:

Trusted Cloud Principles signatories are committed to protecting the rights of our customers. We have agreed to strong principles that ensure we compete while maintaining consistent human rights standards.