A latent war that dare not speak its name. And one that threatens the entire economy.
The prospect of a “kill switch” must be considered by CIOs and, even more so, CEOs. In practical terms, this means reviewing current and future cloud service contracts in light of this new type of disruption.
“We have entered an era of instability, where technology can become a geopolitical weapon. Yet even though we are aware that the cloud is the foundation of the digital economy, 80% of cloud and software purchases in Europe benefit Americans. This is a big problem!” The comment by Benjamin Revcolevschi, CEO of OVHcloud, a few weeks after his appointment as the leading European cloud provider, still resonates.
Supporters of sovereignty in Europe have long feared that dependence on the cloud would allow US agencies to spy on sensitive European data stored on US servers, wherever they may be, thanks to US laws. This is even more true today.
In a political cycle that has seen the US president change laws in the blink of an eye and the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court lose access to his Microsoft email after being sanctioned by Washington—following arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials—there are real fears that the US will use its technological dominance as a weapon to exert influence abroad.
“Trump deeply hates Europe,” says Zach Meyers, Director of Research at the Center for European Reform (CER). “The idea that he could order a kill switch or take any other action that could seriously harm economic interests is not as implausible as it was six months ago.”
In the same vein, Alexander Windbichler, CEO of Anexia, would have liked IT professionals like himself to speak out sooner about this “unhealthy dependence,” arguing that the European cloud industry has for too long avoided lobbying and politics, focusing instead on technological competitiveness.
“I don’t know if Trump could shut down cloud services in Europe, but I never imagined that the US would threaten to confiscate Greenland! That’s crazier than shutting down the cloud!”
After all, the cloud works like a water tap.
Someone can turn it off. In practical terms, the US administration could order cloud companies to discontinue their services in Europe.
It’s not just Trump, and it’s not just Europe. At the end of July, Indian energy giant Nayara Energy, 49% owned by Russian giant Rosnef, filed a lawsuit in its country against Microsoft for discontinuing all paid services it provided to it without notice. This suspension of services appears, in reality, to be a consequence of the sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russia, as Nayara is de facto controlled by Russian interests.
This gives pause for thought. CIOs and CEOs will have to review their current and future contracts in light of this type of disruption. Clearly, this is a new type of event that must now be taken into account when signing cloud service contracts.
It is a latent war, a war that does not say its name. In response to the European measures taken by the European Commission—described as “discriminatory” by President Trump—we risk having “substantial additional tariffs” imposed on us. As a reminder, in June, Trump canceled trade negotiations with Canada in retaliation for a digital services tax planned by Ottawa and targeting Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta. Shortly thereafter, Canada announced that it was canceling the measure…
