75% of European firms fear US tech 'kill switch' as sovereignty concerns grow

European business leaders are increasingly alarmed by their reliance on American technology, fearing that geopolitical shifts could lead to a sudden loss of critical digital infrastructure. A survey of 1,500 decision-makers across the UK, France, and Germany reveals that 75% of organizations fear a "kill switch" scenario where US-based providers revoke access to essential services overnight.

The research underscores a precarious lack of resilience among these firms. According to the data, 54.5% of surveyed businesses believe they could operate for only one business day or less if cloud access were severed. The financial stakes are steep: the estimated loss from a single day of downtime is approximately €100,000 ($115,000) per business, with 44.8% of respondents expecting losses exceeding €50,000.

The push for digital sovereignty

This anxiety is rooted in the concept of digital sovereignty—the ability of a state or organization to maintain control over its own data and infrastructure. As geopolitical tensions rise, the dominance of "hyperscalers" such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Google is increasingly viewed as a strategic vulnerability.

In response, the European Commission has proposed legislative changes aimed at reducing "risky dependencies" on foreign suppliers. This shift is already manifesting in high-stakes procurement; for instance, Ireland has stalled a €1 billion tender for Microsoft due to concerns over digital sovereignty. Some EU governments are now actively transitioning toward open-source or Linux-based stacks to insulate themselves from foreign legal tools or sanctions.

Existential risks and market shifts

For many European companies, the threat of a government-imposed kill switch is no longer a theoretical exercise. Nearly 75% of those surveyed now view such an event as an existential threat on par with ransomware or major cyberattacks. Raphaël Auphan, COO of Proton, noted that the assumption that a provider's interests will always align with a client's is a "fragile foundation for business continuity," especially as regulatory and political environments shift.

This trend creates a dual risk for the US tech industry. As European firms migrate toward sovereign alternatives to ensure survival, American giants face a potential loss of significant market share. Simultaneously, the research suggests that US-based firms themselves may be vulnerable if they have tied their own critical operations to a single vendor without diversification.

What to watch

Industry observers are now monitoring whether European governments will move beyond proposals to implement strict mandates for infrastructure diversification. While the move toward open-source alternatives is gaining momentum, the speed at which large-scale enterprises can migrate away from deeply integrated US cloud ecosystems remains unconfirmed.