Are the shares in Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and other US companies offering cloud services, about to Trumble?

Section 14 of an Executive Order signed by Trump, aimed at enhancing domestic enforcement of U.S. immigration laws:

"Privacy Act. Agencies shall, to the extent consistent with applicable law, ensure that their privacy policies exclude persons who are not United States citizens or lawful permanent residents from the protections of the Privacy Act regarding personally identifiable information."

This has the potential to decimate the cloud industries and cause turmoil as EU companies move the personal data they own to non US based companies. But don't panic yet. I'm reminded of the ICO's advice when Safe Harbour was thrown into doubt. They took the pragmatic approach of advising people that they would not be rushing to use their enforcement powers. There is no new and immediate threat to personal data.

According to an EU spokesperson, Privacy Shield (Safe Harbour 2) does not rely upon the protections of the Privacy Act but rather relies on the Judicial Redress Act which she said “extends the benefits of the U.S. Privacy Act to Europeans and gives them access to U.S. courts”.

If however, protection for EU citizen’s personal data under U.S. law can no longer be guaranteed then Privacy Shield would have to be suspended.