Today, data forms the backbone of healthcare, government, energy, financial services, and industrial innovation. Therefore, control over digital infrastructure has become strategically important. Not only at the corporate level, but also on a geopolitical level.

Where your data is physically stored and under which legislation it falls is therefore much more than an IT question. It is a governance issue, and increasingly a matter of digital autonomy.

Many organizations opt for American hyperscalers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud, assuming that data is safe as long as it is stored in European data centers. In practice, however, this proves to be more complex.

Legislation such as the Cloud Act (2018), the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and Executive Order 12333 gives U.S. authorities the right to request access to data from U.S. companies, regardless of where that data is physically stored. This means that data from European companies hosted by U.S. cloud providers may fall under U.S. surveillance.

Digital civil rights organizations such as EDRi have been warning about this situation for some time. According to them, American authorities can request data without the individuals concerned being aware of it.

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The European Union has this risk firmly in its sights. New policy strategies and legislation are increasingly focusing on reducing dependence on non-European technology parties . The NIS2 Directive, the AI ​​Act, the Data Act , and the Data Governance Act emphasize the importance of transparency , data control, and digital autonomy. Earlier documents, such as the European Commission's Digital Strategy, also call for greater control over one 's own infrastructure . In March 2024 , this was reaffirmed by the European Data Protection Supervisor ( EDPS ) . According to their strategy report , data infrastructures have a direct impact on the protection of personal data as well as on democratic values ​​within Europe.

The claim that the cloud is neutral is, in many cases, more marketing than reality . Even when working with European data centers from American providers , the underlying control is still tied to foreign legislation , governance structures , and security models . Neutrality therefore exists only in theory . In practice , jurisdiction determines who has access to your data and under what conditions .

Due to the risks mentioned above, more and more organizations are consciously opting for a sovereign cloud environment . Not as a rejection of the public cloud , but as a strategic step towards greater control, transparency, and compliance.

For organizations in sectors where data sovereignty, compliance, and risk management are preconditions – such as healthcare, government, legal services, and finance – this is no longer a preference, but a necessity.

The cloud is not a neutral space . It is a complex whole of technology , legal frameworks , and international interests . Anyone working on digital transformation or AI integration must therefore certainly also consider ownership and control . Digital autonomy requires conscious choices . Not only regarding functionality or scalability , but also regarding compliance , governance , and long - term risks . Want to know more? Download our white paper to discover what a sovereign cloud solution means in practice .