Your website could get blacklisted or suspended for no mistake of yours. Therefore, it does not make sense to store your data, or host your websites, on the servers that are located in such countries. You will be forced to follow their harsh laws. They do not guarantee any protection or confidentiality for your critical business data.
Best Offshore Web Hosting Locations for Complete Data Privacy: eAskme |
While choosing a web hosting company for your business or personal needs, you must also be concerned about their privacy laws and security features offered by them. Sometimes, it would seem improper to go for the local host, because the laws of that country simply do not offer long term feasibility.
Obviously, offshore web hosting is the best solution, for dealing with the aforementioned problems. In this article, we shall specify some of the countries which offer stringent data privacy laws and powerful servers.
Countries offering best data privacy for web hosting:
United States
• The web hosting market in the US was strategically advantageous when the internet was in its infancy. Due to the new restrictive laws now, freedom of speech is getting stifled.• The FBI has seized and closed multiple websites for a variety of violations, which majority of citizens take as attempt of control and censorship. USA may not be the country for data privacy in the long run.
Our score: 3/10
Romania
• The country offers fast internet speeds and is getting popular video hosting and streaming services.• Less regulated than Eastern European countries.
• Businesses in Europe and Asia can take advantage of the close location and data privacy laws.
Our score: 6/10
Switzerland
• Federal Act of Switzerland has been providing highest standards for data protection, for their clients from all around the world.• Whereas., the US government secretly gathers the data of internet users, under the provisions of the Patriot Act and FISA, but in Switzerland prosecutors will need to file a formal request to obtain internet data.
Our score: 8/10
Netherlands
• The Dutch government just accused Google for violating the data privacy laws, which scores them full points for allowing freedom of speech.• Netherlands complies with EU privacy laws, plus their own laws, which offer best data privacy.
• It is also popular as the second-best country for allowing freedom of press.
• It’s Geo-location in Europe also makes it a good choice for hosting servers.
• Netherlands is part of EU and therefore have to follow their regulations.
Our score: 7/10
Norway
• Norway is not an EU member, so thy have the liberty of framing their own privacy laws, without any interference from EuroZone.• Web hosting in Norway is expensive, but data protection is excellent in comparison.
• Any foreign government will need to get approval from the Norwegian court to get access to online private information.
Our score: 7/10
Iceland – Our score 9/10
Iceland has stringent data privacy laws and so it is the most popular web-hosting country. Its geo-location is a plus point for web hosting, because it has good connectivity with North America and Europe.Data Protection Act which was drafted in the year 2000 includes any measures to ensure that, even the Government has to strictly adhere to the privacy protection protocol. Even though Iceland adopts the privacy laws of EuroZone. Which are indubitably better than the USA, they have eliminated many of the stricter ones, that compromise the data privacy of their users.
Iceland is actively taking help to build the ‘Free speech zone’, by partnering with dedicated web hosting companies. They are working towards preserving the confidentiality of personal and business data.
There are many offshore and national web hosting options, but you must first understand the legal requirements of the country, before you select the right one. Among the nations mentioned above, Iceland seems to be an ideal location, because of the constitutional protection that is provided against censorships.
Thousands of businesses from foreign countries use Iceland as their web hosting nation, because the legal obligations are more relaxed, when compared to that in their own countries.