Microsoft calls for regulations over cloud computing

On Wednesday, Microsoft will call for greater government involvement in the largely unregulated and fast-growing cloud computing industry.

The move, expected to come in a Washington speech by a top company executive, seeks to establish the software giant as a major voice on cloud computing, a burgeoning field where big dollars are at stake as businesses race to transfer information to the Web. Microsoft, along with Google, is making a strong push into cloud computing, which allows firms to store large amounts of data on remote servers that are maintained by third parties and accessible via the Internet. But the technology platform, like many aspects of the Web, has not yet been regulated in the way that, for example, broadcasters and other telecom sectors have been. Microsoft's general counsel Brad Smith plans to argue in his speech Wednesday at the Brookings Institution that without clear rules for privacy and security in cloud computing, faith in the nascent, Web-based technology could be hampered.