Amazon announced a new governance structure for its so-called “sovereign offer” in Europe to ensure “independent and continuous operations” and alleviate concerns. The company reportedly prepared staff to address questions from customers about international bans, instructing them to say that “in the theoretical case that such sanctions ever came to pass, [Amazon’s cloud unit] would do everything practically possible to provide continuity of service.”
Several experts are asking what power U.S. companies would have to resist the White House. “If that political dimension turns hostile, how credible is it that companies with the best intentions can challenge their president?” Cristina Caffarra, a tech and competition economist and honorary professor at University College London, told POLITICO.
The news that the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan in May had access to his Microsoft-hosted email cut after U.S. sanctions over the arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has further raised concerns. Microsoft declined to comment on its exact involvement leading to Khan’s email disconnection, saying only more generally: “At no point did Microsoft cease or suspend its services to the ICC.”
“Naturally, U.S. companies must comply with U.S. law,” Aura Salla, a center-right Finnish lawmaker in the European Parliament and Meta’s former top lobbyist in Brussels, wrote in reaction to the ICC news, adding that “for Europeans, this means we cannot trust the reliability and security of U.S. companies’ operating systems.”
Politicians and experts are arguing for a real European technology alternative. “You can feel that you are one executive order away from losing access to critical technology and critical infrastructures,” said Francesca Bria, an innovation professor at University College London. “It’s become clear that Europe must not depend on any external power that holds the ability to pull the plug.”
A €300 billion backup plan
The push for Europe to move off the U.S. cloud confronts a stark reality: unwinding American technological dominance won’t be easy, nor cheap.