Group-based external sharing of electronic data

A computing system configured to provide access to electronic content, the system comprising:

• a processor;
• a data store coupled to the processor and configured to store the electronic content;
• a user interface component coupled to the processor and configured to generate a user interface allowing a responsible party to specify a group of internal users who are allowed to share at least some content externally;
• and
• an access control component configured to receive an external sharing request from an internal user and determine if the internal user is a member of the group of internal users and to selectively allow the sharing request if the user is a member of the group of internal users.

A computer-implemented method of sharing electronic content using a data storage system, the method comprising:

• receiving a request from an internal user to share electronic content stored in the data storage system externally;
• determining if the internal user is a member of a defined group of internal users for whom external sharing is allowed;
• and
• if the internal user is a member of the defined group of internal users for whom external sharing is allowed, sharing the electronic content externally.