How do US regulations impact your business data sovereignty in the EU?

In today's tense geopolitical landscape, an increasing number of organizations are asking themselves this exact question. For European businesses, European hosting providers are quickly becoming the go-to alternative to major US-based cloud providers.

And that’s not without reason.

Stronger privacy laws, better protection

Let’s start with the facts. The US CLOUD Act gives the American government the power to access any data managed by a US company, no matter where that data is stored. Even if your servers are located in Europe, they’re not safe from US jurisdiction if they’re managed by a US-based provider.

That doesn’t sit well with businesses that want to give their users real data protection. Especially with strict European privacy regulations like GDPR in place, trust and transparency are key.

Why we believe in European alternatives

At icapps, we’ve been actively researching European hosting providers that align with our values. Scaleway and OVHCloud are two strong examples that put privacy and sovereignty first. These providers are built on European soil, operate under EU laws, and are more transparent about how they handle data.

Some projects like Gaia-X even try to take things further by creating a European framework for cloud infrastructure. While some US tech giants are involved in these projects too, that doesn’t always mean bad news. What matters is having clear, enforceable rules, and Europe is currently ahead on that front.

Curious which providers we’re considering? We’ll reveal more in the next post.

Can encryption solve the problem?

You might wonder: what about encrypting all data? That’s definitely an option, and one we sometimes recommend. But keep in mind that, with the 'harvest now, decrypt later' mindset, it’s important to find the right balances, strong encryption is key, but it shouldn’t slow down real-time services unnecessarily.

The ideal scenario? Storing your data with a provider who already respects your need for privacy, without extra workarounds.

This isn't just about compliance. It’s about trust.

Whether you’re building a mobile app, managing health data, or processing payments, your users expect privacy by default. And let’s face it: telling them their data is safe within the EU is a much stronger message than “hosted somewhere in the cloud.”

European hosting gives you that peace of mind.

What’s next in this series?

This blog is the first in a series. We’ll be sharing:

  • How we select European alternatives (and which ones made our shortlist)

  • An interactive questionnaire to help you decide if you should switch

  • The steps we’ve taken as icapps to transition our own stack

  • A peek into the future: what's next for cloud hosting in Europe?