Israel Required Google and Amazon to Use Secret 'Winking Mechanism' to Circumvent Legal Obligations in Cloud Deal
By
skilled
Crisp on the outside, thoughtful on the inside. A keeper.
Summary
The article reveals that during negotiations for a $1.2 billion cloud computing deal in 2021, the Israeli government demanded Google and Amazon agree to use a secret 'winking mechanism' - a coded system to circumvent legal obligations in countries worldwide. This arrangement was designed to prevent Israeli data stored in the tech giants' cloud platforms from being accessed by foreign law enforcement authorities. The extraordinary terms were accepted by Google and Amazon to secure the lucrative government contract, raising significant concerns about tech companies bypassing legal requirements for government clients.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledWhen Google and Amazon negotiated a major $1.2bn cloud-computing deal in 2021, their customer – the Israeli government – had an unusual demand: agree to use a secret code as part of an arrangement that would become known as the 'winking mechanism'
The demand, which would require Google and Amazon to effectively sidestep legal obligations in countries around the world, was born out of Israel's concerns that data it moves into the global corporations' cloud platforms could end up in the hands of foreign law enforcement authorities
The tech giants agreed to extraordinary terms to clinch a lucrative contract with the Israeli government, documents show
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