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Amazon, Apple and Microsoft are finally throwing their weight behind a government-backed push to get the cloud storage community to roll out fairer terms for users.

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The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed that the trio had committed to altering their contract terms to protect users from unexpected price hikes or service terminations.

In a statement, the CMA said all three had separately committed to changing their terms and conditions to ensure users get adequate notice of any significant changes to their services.

Also, if users are not happy with the changes these providers plan to introduce, all three have offered to give pro-rota refunds.

Andrea Coscelli,acting CEO of the CMA, said that, given how reliant consumers are becoming on cloud storage services, providers had a duty of care to ensure they treated users and their data with respect.

People rely on cloud storage to keep things such as treasured family photos, music, films and important documents safe, so it is important that they are treated fairly and should not be hit by unexpected price rises or changes to storage levels, said Coscelli.

Amazon, Apple and Microsoft have joined seven previous companies in working with theCMAand agreeing commitments to improve their terms and conditions.

As a result, millions of cloud storage users will benefit from fairer terms, which will help them make the right choices when using cloud storage services.

The likes of Dropbox and Google, and a number of lesser-known providers, have pledged their support for the CMAs review of the cloud storage market, which began in November 2015.

The initiatives aim is to assess how the terms and conditions offered by the cloud storage provider community complies with consumer rights laws.

This followed numerous headlines and reports about cloud storage firms raising prices, cutting the amount of free capacity they offer or shutting down with little warning to customers.

Notable by their absence, until now, have been Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, given that their services are relied on by millions of cloud storage users across the world.

Securing the support of these three means the CMAs review of the cloud storage sector is now complete, the organisation confirmed.

TheCMAremains interested in unfair terms and conditions, particularly in the digital economy, the CMA said in a statement.

Companies in the cloud storage and other technology-driven sectors are urged to keep their terms and conditions under review and to continually improve the fairness and clarity of their consumer contract terms.

See the article here:
Amazon, Apple and Microsoft pledge to support government push for fair cloud storage use - ComputerWeekly.com