Netherlands: Microsoft handed officials’ names to US Congress
According to Dutch press reports, in May 2026 Microsoft gave the US House of Representatives internal documents containing the unredacted names of Dutch officials at the ACM and AP — agencies enforcing the Digital Services Act. The state secretary for digital economy and sovereignty summoned the US ambassador.
In short: EU storage is not enough. A US vendor under subpoena can hand over European officials’ names.
What happened
The material was internal correspondence between Microsoft and Dutch regulators — emails, meeting invitations, minutes — not a direct export of customer mailboxes. The legal basis was a Congressional subpoena in an inquiry into European platform rules, not a classic CLOUD Act request for cloud-stored customer data.
The mechanism matters, but the outcome is the same: a European agency works under domestic law while officials’ identities end up in documents under US control. The Netherlands responded diplomatically — and reminded that digital sovereignty will take years to build.
Residency ≠ sovereignty
An “EU region” or local datacentre does not mean data and metadata sit outside foreign legal reach. If the operator is a US company, it may be compelled to produce material to its home state — including the names of people who are not customers but regulatory counterparts.
For business and public bodies, that means asking about contract jurisdiction, who holds keys, whether you can audit access, and what happens when a foreign state requests disclosure. That is also what the Commission’s April SEAL procurement addressed — and what the proposed CADA act from June 2026 would codify.
Practical takeaway
Sensitive government and regulated-industry communication should not sit in bundles where you lack control over disclosure and notice. European hosting, open source (Nextcloud, your own mail), and contracts under EU law reduce risk — not ideology, access governance.
Comparison with US clouds · Public sector overview · EU SEAL cloud procurement