A Swiss cloud provider cautions that American Big Tech could exploit client data or suspend services for political reasons.
A new report indicates that businesses in European countries allied with the US rely significantly on American digital services, potentially exposing their data to strategic risks.
Proton, a Swiss cloud company, reported on Tuesday that over 74% of publicly listed European companies depend on American technology providers. The report highlights that entire sectors in certain countries, such as the French real estate market, the Spanish energy industry, and a large part of the Irish economy, are reliant on US services.
The report suggests that US companies might utilize European data for AI model training, share it with the US government, or interrupt services to European customers due to geopolitical pressures. It also warns that this reliance may lead to a loss of talent from Europe and hinder domestic innovation.
Proton’s findings are based on an analysis of the email domains used by companies across 31 European nations, excluding Russia, which it says reflect a preference for other aspects of the “tech stack.” Only four countries showed less than 50% dependence on American providers. Data showed that Iceland, Norway, Ireland, and Finland each have dependency levels exceeding 90%.
“Europe has favored US tech over domestic investment for decades,” Proton stated. “Now, this decision threatens its economic stability, cybersecurity, and democratic sovereignty.”
The Swiss company promoted its own services as an alternative and expressed support for the European Union’s EuroStack initiative, which aims to develop independent digital capabilities, including chip manufacturing, cloud infrastructure, and AI systems.
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