AWS forms EU-based cloud unit as customers fret

Summary

In a nod to European customers' growing mistrust of American hyperscalers, Amazon Web Services says it is establishing a new organization in the region "backed by strong technical controls, sovereign assurances, and legal protections." Ever since the Trump 2.0 administration assumed office and implemented an erratic and unprecedented foreign policy stance, including aggressive tariffs and threats to the national sovereignty of Greenland and Canada, customers in Europe have voiced unease about placing their data in the hands of big US tech companies. The Register understands that data sovereignty is now one of the primary questions that customers at European businesses ask sales reps at hyperscalers when they have conversations about new services. At the end of April, Microsoft responded to what it classified as "geopolitical and trade volatility" between the US and Europe by offering customers privacy safeguards and claiming it will fight the US government in court to protect customer data if needed. Google Cloud followed suit last month, updating its sovereign cloud services by adding an air-gapped solution, among other measures intended to soothe the nerves of customers in the EU trading bloc. Not to be outdone, AWS is forming a new European organization with a locally controlled parent company and three subsidiaries incorporated in Germany, as part of its European Sovereign Cloud (ESC) rollout, set to launch by the end of 2025. Kathrin Renz, an AWS Industries VP based in Munich, will lead the operation as the first managing director of the AWS ESC. The other leaders, we're told, include a government security official and a privacy official – all EU citizens. The cloud giant stated: "AWS will establish an independent advisory board for the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, legally obligated to act in the best interest of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud. Reinforcing the sovereign control of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, the advisory board will consist of four memb...