A new examination reveals the extent to which the Netherlands relies on American cloud services – a dependence that raises concerns about national security and digital sovereignty. A critically important 67% of 16,500 Dutch domain names, including those used by critical infrastructure and government agencies, are connected to U.S.-based cloud providers. The findings are prompting debate over the risks associated with this reliance, particularly given geopolitical considerations, and are fueling calls for greater digital independence within the country.
NOS Nieuws•
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Joost Schellevis
Tech Reporter
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Joost Schellevis
Tech Reporter
Online grocery shopping at Albert Heijn, emailing your doctor, the article you are reading now – if the United States under President Trump wanted to, all of this could be shut down, as all the data for these services resides on servers of American companies.
The extent of the United States’ cloud infrastructure supporting Dutch society is significant, according to data research from NOS. This reliance extends far beyond the Dutch tech company Solvinity, which is responsible for the operation of DigiD and is currently being acquired by a U.S. competitor.
A staggering 67 percent of 16,500 domain names examined – used by Dutch government agencies, healthcare providers, schools, and critical businesses – are linked to at least one American cloud service.
This can include websites hosted on American servers, as well as email and applications like Microsoft Teams.
Dependence Gone Too Far
In October, the outgoing Dutch cabinet announced that the tax authorities would also be moving their email to Microsoft. The First Chamber, the Second Chamber, the Authority for the Financial Markets, and the Netherlands Healthcare Authority had already done so.
“Our country is hooked up to the IV drip of American tech bros, and half of that is with a single brand. The fact that this has spiraled out of control is incomprehensible,” said Member of Parliament Barbara Kathmann of GreenLeft-PvdA, who has made reducing digital dependence on the United States a key priority.
Microsoft holds a market share of 49 percent among the domains examined. By comparison, Solvinity, which may be acquired, has a market share of less than 1 percent.
This includes 29 of approximately 70 hospitals with a so-called patient portal, allowing patients to access their medical records. In 28 cases, the electronic patient record is linked to a Microsoft server, and in one case to the infrastructure giant Cloudflare.
