OVH and Patriot Act

08-07-2011, 14:56

Hello,

As you know, OVH is starting up its business in the U.S. and Canada. And as you know, maybe, in the U.S. there is a "Patriot Act" law which allows the authorities (FBI, CIA) to access all data hosted in the USA and all the data around the world hosted by American companies. This demands no justice, just by mentioning "Patriot Act". It's the law in the U.S. and it is normal if we were in the USA.

At our level, OVH France has its own infrastructure in France and offered on European markets. Also, within a few days we will offer them to all customers worldwide, including U.S. OVH France is not subject to "Patriot Act" since OVH France is not an American company and has no infrastructure in the U.S..

OVH U.S is an American company and will invest in the U.S to build datacentres and offer its services to U.S customers but also around the world. We plan two major datacentres in the U.S so OVH U.S is subject to U.S. Patriot Act and will comply with U.S. law. This is quite normal.

OVH France does not provide services based on the U.S. infrastructure. And OVH U.S. will not offer services based on OVH France. These are two groups who have nothing to do with each other. And so if you want a server in the U.S., it must be ordered from OVH U.S. And if an American wants a server in Europe he will have to go through OVH France. And thus be a customer of these two companies. Total isolation between the two companies that have separate customer bases.

And the same with OVH Canada, which is a third company and isolated from the two previous groups. It is also not a subsidiary of OVH France or OVH U.S.. And OVH Canda will invest only in Montreal. OVH Canada is not subject to Patriot Act.

OVH U.S. and OVH Canada are two new companies, the main shareholder is Octave Klaba and only him. This is not a subsidiary of OVH France either. They isolated from each other again.

In short, we have the same kind of isolation between the three companies such as Visa has set up for Visa Europe and Visa USA. The goal is the same: to reassure customers while respecting the law of each country.

In contrast, our dedicated servers or Cloud Computing U.S. competitors do not seem to have the same types of isolation. And so if you use a service from a U.S. company in Europe you are subject to Patriot Act.
It's the same for free email, your friend pages or storing your photos. Read:
http://www.presence-pc.com/actualite...iot-act-44277/

The aim of this email is not to discuss about the law and to know whether it is good or not. The aim is to clarify the situation of OVH with its customers in Europe and our future customers in the U.S. and Canada.
OVH must and will respect the laws of each country. Our goal is to provide service to customers that develops in each country in accordance with the law, not try to circumvent the laws.
As each country has its own laws and OVH groups in each country fully abides with that country laws.

We therefore hope to have 3 major datacentres in North America by 2025 and invest about €500m and creating about 1,000 jobs.

Regards,

Octave

ankurs · 14-07-2011, 13:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by oles@ovh.net

We therefore hope to have 3 major datacentres in North America by 2025

2025 ? is this a joke ?

Neil · 14-07-2011, 14:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by ankurs

2025 ? is this a joke ?

Not at all, that is only 14 years away, OVH has been running for 12 years and has 5 Datacenters used for customers. This might explain it better...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWILhrSzw5o

Myatu · 14-07-2011, 16:24

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37OWL7AzvHo

lewis4490 · 16-07-2011, 19:23

Cool, does this mean UK customers can order services in the US?

BigDook · 17-07-2011, 05:54

"Also, within a few days we will offer them to all customers worldwide"

This include Australia? So people in OZ would be able to order French based OVH servers directly from OVH?

TH-Guy · 18-07-2011, 13:38

I think the idea is that customers from all around the world will then be able to order servers hosted in the US from OVH. Sounds like the servers in France will only be able to be purchased by the current limited countries still.

Myatu · 18-07-2011, 16:14

AFAICT, it would be a similar to Amazon's AWS structure: Europe and US, which allows Amazon to comply with both the European Data Protection Acts (of which the US only has the self-certified "Safe Harbor" to satisfy EU needs) and the US Patriot Act (of which the EU has different equivalents, but are incompatible with the US Patriot Act) and the DMCA.

European companies must at least comply with the EU regulations/acts, and can voluntarily comply with US ones on European soil and vice versa for US companies. So I think its a good thing that OVH (and Amazon) keep these separate to avoid any overlapping "grey areas" about legalities and data protection/exposure.

On that same note, it's a smart move for Octave to be the sole shareholder, rather than to have OVH France as the shareholder, not simply because of all these legalities, but the IRS would otherwise be able to tax OVH US on OVH's global income (it does so to avoid tax evasion, something the UK Gov't could learn from *evil look at Google*).

08-07-2011, 14:56	#1
oles@ovh.net Guest Posts: n/a	OVH and Patriot Act Hello, As you know, OVH is starting up its business in the U.S. and Canada. And as you know, maybe, in the U.S. there is a "Patriot Act" law which allows the authorities (FBI, CIA) to access all data hosted in the USA and all the data around the world hosted by American companies. This demands no justice, just by mentioning "Patriot Act". It's the law in the U.S. and it is normal if we were in the USA. At our level, OVH France has its own infrastructure in France and offered on European markets. Also, within a few days we will offer them to all customers worldwide, including U.S. OVH France is not subject to "Patriot Act" since OVH France is not an American company and has no infrastructure in the U.S.. OVH U.S is an American company and will invest in the U.S to build datacentres and offer its services to U.S customers but also around the world. We plan two major datacentres in the U.S so OVH U.S is subject to U.S. Patriot Act and will comply with U.S. law. This is quite normal. OVH France does not provide services based on the U.S. infrastructure. And OVH U.S. will not offer services based on OVH France. These are two groups who have nothing to do with each other. And so if you want a server in the U.S., it must be ordered from OVH U.S. And if an American wants a server in Europe he will have to go through OVH France. And thus be a customer of these two companies. Total isolation between the two companies that have separate customer bases. And the same with OVH Canada, which is a third company and isolated from the two previous groups. It is also not a subsidiary of OVH France or OVH U.S.. And OVH Canda will invest only in Montreal. OVH Canada is not subject to Patriot Act. OVH U.S. and OVH Canada are two new companies, the main shareholder is Octave Klaba and only him. This is not a subsidiary of OVH France either. They isolated from each other again. In short, we have the same kind of isolation between the three companies such as Visa has set up for Visa Europe and Visa USA. The goal is the same: to reassure customers while respecting the law of each country. In contrast, our dedicated servers or Cloud Computing U.S. competitors do not seem to have the same types of isolation. And so if you use a service from a U.S. company in Europe you are subject to Patriot Act. It's the same for free email, your friend pages or storing your photos. Read: http://www.presence-pc.com/actualite...iot-act-44277/ The aim of this email is not to discuss about the law and to know whether it is good or not. The aim is to clarify the situation of OVH with its customers in Europe and our future customers in the U.S. and Canada. OVH must and will respect the laws of each country. Our goal is to provide service to customers that develops in each country in accordance with the law, not try to circumvent the laws. As each country has its own laws and OVH groups in each country fully abides with that country laws. We therefore hope to have 3 major datacentres in North America by 2025 and invest about €500m and creating about 1,000 jobs. Regards, Octave Last edited by S0phie; 08-07-2011 at 17:59.

14-07-2011, 16:24	#4
Myatu HG XXXL + KVM over IP Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hammersmith, UK Posts: 2,113	Re: OVH and Patriot Act http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37OWL7AzvHo __________________ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Visit my blog \| Leave a PM \| G+▪▪▪▪ Is your OVH IP listed here? Then fix it!

16-07-2011, 19:23	#5
lewis4490 SuperPlan Mini Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Scotland Posts: 70	Re: OVH and Patriot Act Cool, does this mean UK customers can order services in the US?

17-07-2011, 05:54	#6
BigDook RPS Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 22	Re: OVH and Patriot Act "Also, within a few days we will offer them to all customers worldwide" This include Australia? So people in OZ would be able to order French based OVH servers directly from OVH?

18-07-2011, 13:38	#7
TH-Guy RPS Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 18	Re: OVH and Patriot Act I think the idea is that customers from all around the world will then be able to order servers hosted in the US from OVH. Sounds like the servers in France will only be able to be purchased by the current limited countries still. __________________ █ Kimsufi and OVH Dedicated Servers + Tech-Hosts renowned support and additional services █ No setup fee. Free support included. █ OVH and Kimsufi Reseller (UK) █ Tech-Hosts Ltd.

18-07-2011, 16:14	#8
Myatu HG XXXL + KVM over IP Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hammersmith, UK Posts: 2,113	Re: OVH and Patriot Act AFAICT, it would be a similar to Amazon's AWS structure: Europe and US, which allows Amazon to comply with both the European Data Protection Acts (of which the US only has the self-certified "Safe Harbor" to satisfy EU needs) and the US Patriot Act (of which the EU has different equivalents, but are incompatible with the US Patriot Act) and the DMCA. European companies must at least comply with the EU regulations/acts, and can voluntarily comply with US ones on European soil and vice versa for US companies. So I think its a good thing that OVH (and Amazon) keep these separate to avoid any overlapping "grey areas" about legalities and data protection/exposure. On that same note, it's a smart move for Octave to be the sole shareholder, rather than to have OVH France as the shareholder, not simply because of all these legalities, but the IRS would otherwise be able to tax OVH US on OVH's global income (it does so to avoid tax evasion, something the UK Gov't could learn from evil look at Google). __________________ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Visit my blog \| Leave a PM \| G+▪▪▪▪ Is your OVH IP listed here? Then fix it!