- Many European consumers actively avoid US tech giants over privacy concerns
- Social media and cloud storage are priorities for consumers
- EU companies only hold 15% of the European cloud market
Four in five European consumers say it is important whether or not companies use European technology, confirming that digital sovereignty has now become a priority for the masses.
A study by Proton of 3,000 UK, French and German consumers shows that they are starting to view a company’s digital infrastructure as part of its brand and values, rather than a back-office decision with no impact on customers.
As a result, almost half (45%) said they would actively avoid companies that store customer data with U.S. companies, being more concerned about privacy and security than price or quality.
Digital sovereignty says a lot about consumers
It also lines up with data from the European Commission’s Eurobarometer revealing that three-fifths (58%) of the bloc’s citizens would be willing to switch to an EU-based digital service provider, even if it meant paying higher fees.
The report argues that this reliance on US hyperscalers like AWS, Microsoft, Google and Meta can no longer be seen as a neutral business decision in the eyes of European customers, who are increasingly concerned about privacy, surveillance and geopolitical dependence.
Social media (48%), email (46%), messaging apps (40%) and other services that directly handle personal communications and information were considered the most at-risk consumers, Proton found. Besides communications, cloud storage (38%) was another big concern, as were browsers (31%).
Two in three (65%) also believe that European small businesses should prioritize European technology suppliers over US suppliers, and not from the perspective of supporting local businesses. Consumers are more interested in sovereignty, in maintaining investment in Europe and reducing their dependence on foreign technology suppliers.
As many as four in five (83%) now worry about society’s reliance on big tech and how a small number of hyperscalers now dominate the market. Attitudes have changed quickly, Proton says, due to deteriorating geopolitical tensions between the US and Europe and ongoing debate over US surveillance laws, which prevent providers from being able to fully offer sovereign options.
The US CLOUD Act is of particular concern to European citizens because it allows US law enforcement to access data held by US technology companies, even if it is stored in European data centers.
The use of customer data is also a growing concern, with their information potentially being used to train AI models that only serve to help the US giants.
The reality of US technological dependence
All this comes against a backdrop of growing dependence on the United States, with three-quarters (74%) of publicly traded European companies relying on American technology suppliers, according to a previous Proton report.
Google and Microsoft alone account for 84% of the global office productivity market, with Amazon, Microsoft and Google jointly occupying 66% of the cloud market. Proton’s full report details how European providers collectively only hold 15% of the European cloud market.
“Buying technology from the United States seemed like a no-brainer,” admitted Raphael Auphan, Proton’s chief operating officer, saying he understands why European consumers are so deeply dependent on American software.
Tariffs on European exports, tensions within NATO and US criticism of European regulations – all of which have been called into question under Trump’s presidency – are to blame, the Swiss company claims.
But Auphan now describes the use of American technology as a “commercial responsibility” for companies. “There is growing evidence that consumers care about digital supply chains, and American technology is becoming a weak link.”
“The EU runs on Microsoft,” said Finnish MEP Aura Sally at the 2026 Open Source Policy Summit. “The US could turn us off in an hour.” »
However, an overnight migration away from US hyperscalers is not such an easy decision, and although Proton is attempting to offer some pathways with the recent addition of migration to Gmail without downtime, a full move could take years, giving well-funded US tech giants time to come up with more regional solutions to prevent customers from wanting to migrate in the first place.
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