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Just over a week ago, Business Insider Polska reported that Amazon Web Services will launch a European sovereign cloud in Germany. The American company's investment worth EUR 7.8 billion is intended to be a response to EU regulations regarding digital autonomy. AWS emphasizes that the system is prepared even for the “worst case scenario”. The company, like another US giant operating in this industry, is focusing on Germany, where further huge investments have recently been announced.
Europe's digital sovereignty. There are questions about jurisdiction and US law
In an interview with the WNP portal, Wilk emphasizes that “European digital cloud sovereignty can be graduated”, and the new AWS project will allow for much better adaptation to standards such as NIS2 than other offers from American providers. – At least until they imitate similar solutions – he points out.
However, according to Wilk, jurisdiction remains the key issue. — However, the key question is whether Amazon – as a company governed by US law – ceases to be subject to US jurisdiction in any respect, including provisions such as the Cloud Act. This is, of course, a rhetorical question, but it needs to be asked, says the expert.
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As he adds, without a formal position of the US authorities excluding this service from the Cloud Act, we cannot talk about full sovereignty, but only about its “increased level”.
Topic digital sovereignty has been appearing in industry debates for years, and recently it has returned with a vengeance on this occasion discussion about digital tax. However, according to Wilk, Amazon's decision shows that European countries have begun to take this problem seriously, and global players – wanting to maintain market access – must adapt to it. — It is no coincidence that the first country of implementation is Germany, which has been consistently building its own regulatory and industrial position in the digital area for years. – he emphasizes.
Amazon cloud data. The problem of “Sovereign washing” the USA?
Amazon ensures that the European Sovereign Cloud will be fully localized in the EU, managed by EU residents and technically separated from other AWS regions. Only authorized employees will have access to the source code, and all permissions and configurations will be controlled from Europe.
Piotr Mieczkowski from the Digital Poland Foundation is skeptical about these declarations. In his opinion, even the German company AWS may still be subject to US law. — Operational sovereignty is not the same as legal sovereignty. (…) As long as the owner is a US entity, the American services can theoretically put pressure on the parent company. This is the so-called sovereign washing – we get a product that looks like a European one, but its 'genetic code' and ownership remain overseas” – he says in an interview with the WNP portal.
