Germany-based Nextcloud is one of the prime movers behind the recent Euro-Office open-source package. Here <https://www.computerworld.com/article/4184628/nextcloud-ceo-open-source-moves-from-a-nerdy-audience-to-the-geopolitical-stage.html> is an interview with its CEO where he gives his views on the current European “Digital Sovereignty” movement and related matters, like the increasing importance of Open Source. US-based companies (Microsoft etc) have really tried to tie themselves in knots to be more appealing to European customers seeking Digital Sovereignty, but ultimately the attitude of US lawmakers renders this futile: **US firms have attempted to address European customers’ concerns in different ways, with sovereign marketed cloud services and joint ventures with European providers. Microsoft 365 Local is designed to run on premise. Where do you draw the line between what’s actually a sovereign solution and what some call ‘sovereignty washing?** “Sovereignty has different dimensions, of course. But if you look at the problem of the CLOUD Act alone, which gives foreign agencies full access to the data here, then the whole idea that it’s enough to have European data centers — that’s not enough. It’s clearly written in the CLOUD Act, that even with [European] data centers, or subsidiaries, it still applies. “Microsoft tries to find a solution there with its Delos idea; a company that is owned by SAP — a German company — and Microsoft delivers only the software. But even then, you have this dependency, because software needs updates and software security updates. And if they’re not available, or if someone puts a backdoor into the software, which is possible, then you still have a problem. “So, they’re trying really, really hard to find a way around the problem, but it’s not easy for them.” I like that term, “sovereignty washing”. It gives you something to watch out for, the next time a US-based cloud company comes a-calling ...