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Donald Trump’s return to the White House marks a serious challenge for Europe's digital sovereignty. The so-called Cloud Act compels US companies to hand over data to American authorities, regardless of where servers are physically located. This poses substantial risks for European governments, businesses, and individuals alike.
Current Threat Landscape
Europe's dependence on US-based cloud services such as Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud is significant: Amazon, Microsoft and Google together hold around 70 percent of the European cloud infrastructure market, European providers about 15 percent (Synergy Research Group, July 2025). If Trump cancels the existing Transatlantic Data Privacy Framework (which he can do anytime by decree), European data could once again become exposed to extensive surveillance by US intelligence agencies. This would lead to severe legal uncertainty and significant economic consequences for businesses and government institutions.
Who is Affected?
The scope is vast, touching virtually all areas of digital life:
- Businesses and government institutions storing sensitive data on US cloud platforms.
- Private individuals using US-based services for email, calendars, office applications, or cloud storage.
- IoT devices and smart products that rely on infrastructures provided by US hyperscalers.
- Fundamental internet services like DNS servers and certification authorities, essential for everyday digital operations.
Available Alternatives: European Clouds and Open Source
Fortunately, there are viable alternatives that mitigate these risks:
- European cloud providers: Subject to European data protection laws, offering greater security and control over your data.
- Open-source projects and self-hosting: Providing maximum autonomy, privacy, and independence from US platforms.
- Decentralized services and secure messengers: Reducing centralized dependencies and effectively protecting communications against state surveillance.
Update of 12 October 2026
- The EU General Court dismissed the action against the EU-US Data Privacy Framework on 3 September 2025 (judgment T-553/23, Latombe v Commission). An appeal has been pending before the Court of Justice since 31 October 2025 (Case C-703/25 P). The framework therefore remains in force for now; a final ruling is outstanding.
- The Cloud Act is unchanged (18 U.S.C. § 2713). It applies to data under the control of a US company, regardless of server location.
- On 15 January 2026 AWS launched the AWS European Sovereign Cloud with a first region in Brandenburg, Germany. It is technically and organisationally separated from the other AWS regions but still belongs to a US group. Whether this rules out access under the Cloud Act has not been conclusively settled.
WZ-IT’s Position
At WZ-IT, we view the current political developments critically. Dependence on US-based cloud services introduces significant and unpredictable risks to data protection and IT security. We strongly advise companies, government bodies, and private users to proactively migrate critical infrastructure and sensitive data to secure, European cloud solutions.
Now is the time to rely on European providers and take action to ensure long-term digital sovereignty and data protection.
We are here to help you select and migrate to secure European cloud platforms. Schedule your free initial call with us today: Schedule an appointment.
Your data deserves protection, especially now!
