Media: Trump may restrict Europe’s internet access via US cloud control

Donald Trump’s return to the White House has exposed a critical digital vulnerability for Europe: its near-total dependence on US cloud providers, which gives Washington a potential “kill switch” over much of the continent’s internet infrastructure.

Years of reliance on American tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google—who control over two-thirds of Europe’s cloud market—have left European governments and businesses at the mercy of US political shifts and policies, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

Cloud computing powers everything from email and video streaming to industrial and government communications. This dependency has long worried European sovereignty advocates, who fear that US laws allow American agencies to access sensitive European data stored on US-owned servers, regardless of their physical location.

As Trump’s administration ratchets up geopolitical tensions, some Europeans are confronting the reality that the US could weaponize its technological dominance. “Trump really hates Europe. He thinks the whole purpose of the EU is to ‘screw‘ America,” said Zach Meyers, director of research at Brussels’ CERRE think tank. “The idea that he might order a kill switch or do something else that would severely damage economic interests isn’t quite as implausible as it might have sounded six months ago.”

Alexander Windbichler, CEO of Austrian cloud company Anexia, echoed the urgency: “I don’t know [if Trump would pull the plug]. But I never expected that the US would be threatening to take Greenland away. It’s crazier than shutting down the cloud.”

Warnings have grown louder since Trump’s return. Matthias Ecke, German lawmaker in the European Parliament, said, “It is no longer reasonable to assume that we can totally rely on our American partner. There’s a serious risk that all of our data is used by the US administration or infrastructure [is] made inaccessible by other countries.” Benjamin Revcolevschi, CEO of French cloud firm OVHcloud, added, “The risk of a shutdown is the new paradigm... Cloud is like a tap of water. What if at some moment the tap is closed?”

In response, US firms have sought to reassure Europe. Microsoft’s President Brad Smith acknowledged the concern is “a real concern of people across Europe” but said the risk of a shutdown is “exceedingly unlikely.” Amazon has introduced governance changes to ensure “independent and continuous operations.”

Still, experts question whether US companies can resist political pressure from Washington. Cristina Caffarra, tech economist at University College London, asked, “If that political dimension turns hostile, how credible is it that companies with the best intentions can challenge their president?”

The recent suspension of International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan’s Microsoft-hosted email account after US sanctions against Israel intensified these fears. Aura Salla, Finnish lawmaker and former Meta lobbyist, remarked, “For Europeans, this means we cannot trust the reliability and security of US companies’ operating systems.”

Calls are growing for a European alternative to US cloud dominance. The €300 billion “EuroStack” initiative aims to foster a self-reliant European digital infrastructure by encouraging public contracts to favor homegrown firms and funding native tech development.

Francesca Bria, innovation professor at University College London, stressed, “You can feel that you are one executive order away from losing access to critical technology and critical infrastructures... It’s become clear that Europe must not depend on any external power that holds the ability to pull the plug.”

Despite strong political will, experts warn the path to digital sovereignty will be costly and complex. Germany’s former Finance Minister Jörg Kukies urged caution, noting, “There simply aren’t sufficient alternatives to the offerings by the American digital industry.”

As Europe balances the need for technological independence against its transatlantic ties, the stakes have never been higher. “Europe blindly trusted the US to always be there, and always on their side,” Bria concluded. “The situation feels very different now.”

By Vafa Guliyeva