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Comment by esher | Hacker News Reader

Dear smart people on HN, what do you make of this? I understand most of you are US based. Is that Amazon getting ready for serious trade war, US/EU?

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EU, as a US citizen, go all in and ditch the US as much as you can. Not only will this bring competition, it also means that the US Government cannot grab the balls of Amazon and squeeze the EU market.

I wouldn't trust Amazon with my data if I was an EU citizen. As a US citizen I don't even trust Amazon with my own data. This is why I support de-Google, de-Microsoft, and de-Apple computing.

It is an attempt to not lose European customers that might be tempted to migrate to Europe-based solutions in the current political climate. In the event of a serious trade war (like you suggested) and/or a real war, it gives some assurances; which is smart based on the threats from the current unpredictable and authoritarian U.S. administration.

But it probably started as a way to comply with EU laws more easily, so it works on multiple levels.

How much can we trust this so-called sovereign cloud? That's a sincere question. I can't think of a more American company than Amazon, and I find it hard to believe that it could be completely independent from its American headquarters.

I really hope that Europe will get its act together rather than relying on this half-hearted solution.

They claim the "AWS European Sovereign Cloud represents a physically and logically separate cloud infrastructure, with all components located entirely within the EU" and that it operates entirely under German laws, but I think your skepticism is warranted.

I think Europe should push for its own solutions rather than fuel oligarchy/authoritarianism, if they are serious about their own security and preserving liberal values.

Physically separate infrastructure as well as local employees help to some extent. But it is not really sovereign cloud. There is no guarantee that employees would know if some commands are illegal. Plus parent company can fly anyone there if needed.

Plus some staff could be dual citizens with loyalty to the US

If you think deeply and logically, you will see that those text and even some legal details are just marketing that aims smart people. because in case of war or some serious conflict, they will be obeying the parent company and orders of usa government. see ICJ prosecutors and microsoft, you have real proof live, if you can connect some dots.

Not at all. Trump applies any leverage he can. "Nice US cloud you've got there... would be a shame if anything happened to it..."

It has already been discussed here a bit: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46640462

They’ve been planning this for a while. These datacentres and organisations don’t spring up overnight, especially at this scale.

I know at least one major European bank made it a requirement upon AWS to provide essentially this service. I believe back around 2020 or maybe a bit earlier.

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