European companies considering hosting personal data on American servers need to consult the so called Safe Harbour List, which is a list maintained by the American Department of Commerce:
http://safeharbor.export.gov/list.aspx
Now, what it means when a company is on the safe harbour list, is that the company has declared that it adheres to a privacy policy that complies with the U.S.- EU Safe Harbor agreements:
http://export.gov/safeharbor/eu/eg_main_018493.asp
As the OP shows, this is by no means adequate protection against American government surveillance. But then again, many European governments also have surveillance laws in place that allow certain government agencies access to hosted data, emails etc. with or without warrants. Often, the scrutiny of your local government is just as relevant a concern as that of being watched by the US government.
Yes, your influence on the UK democracy is at least 2.17391304 × 10 * * (-6) percent (1 out of the 46 million voters) whereas your influence on the American government is 0 percent.
It's not so much a matter of the influence I have as a matter of the government's goal.
Protecting me is somehow one of the missions of my government. Even if they tend to be quite bad at it, that still has to be on their minds.
The American government (or any foreign one), on the other hand, can and will screw me over, if they need it. And they will brag about it to gain poll points. Protecting me isn't part of their mission. Why would it be ? To them, I am the enemy.
European companies considering hosting personal data on American servers need to consult the so called Safe Harbour List, which is a list maintained by the American Department of Commerce: http://safeharbor.export.gov/list.aspx
Now, what it means when a company is on the safe harbour list, is that the company has declared that it adheres to a privacy policy that complies with the U.S.- EU Safe Harbor agreements: http://export.gov/safeharbor/eu/eg_main_018493.asp
As the OP shows, this is by no means adequate protection against American government surveillance. But then again, many European governments also have surveillance laws in place that allow certain government agencies access to hosted data, emails etc. with or without warrants. Often, the scrutiny of your local government is just as relevant a concern as that of being watched by the US government.