Digital sovereignty has become a pressing concern across Europe, as organizations look to reduce their reliance on US-based service providers. Whether you operate a website, run a business, or build digital products, understanding where your data lives and who can access it is no longer optional.

The US CLOUD Act and Its Implications

Enacted in 2018, the US CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act) resolved a legal battle between Microsoft and the US government over customer data stored on servers in Ireland. The outcome was clear: US authorities can compel American companies to hand over data regardless of where it is physically stored.

For European organizations, this creates a genuine conflict. Article 48 of the GDPR states that foreign authorities must go through mutual legal assistance treaties (MLATs) to access data. A US-headquartered provider that complies with the CLOUD Act may simultaneously violate European data protection law, and vice versa.

Why "European Data Centres" Are Not Enough

Major US cloud providers have responded by promising that European customer data stays on European soil. AWS has built a "European Sovereign Cloud" in Brandenburg, Microsoft offers an "EU Data Boundary," and Google promotes "Sovereign Controls." These are positive steps, but they do not address the core issue.

The legal jurisdiction follows the company, not the server rack. If the parent organization is incorporated in the United States, the CLOUD Act still applies, regardless of the data centre address.

Genuinely European Infrastructure Providers

Companies like Hetzner (based in Gunzenhausen, Germany) and OVH (headquartered in France) offer European-owned alternatives. Both operate data centres within Europe, fall under European law, and are not subject to the CLOUD Act.

European Software Alternatives

Beyond infrastructure, a growing number of European applications can replace US-dominated tools:

Email: Mailbox.org, Proton Mail, Tuta
Office and Collaboration: Nextcloud, OnlyOffice, CryptPad
Video Conferencing: Jitsi, BigBlueButton
Web Analytics: Privacy-focused European analytics platforms instead of Google Analytics

Steps Toward Greater Independence

Audit your critical workloads and identify US-controlled dependencies
Look beyond the physical data centre location to the legal jurisdiction of the provider
Migrate services gradually rather than all at once
Support European providers by choosing them where quality is comparable
Treat GDPR compliance as a competitive advantage rather than a burden