Hyderabad

LOCATION
Hyderabad

  • Platform
  • Services
  • Technical
  • About
Current
6 Mb/s
Peak
653 Mb/s
ASNS
3
GET STARTED
GET STARTED

AMS-IX locations

Pros and cons scale shutterstock 2299703179 LT square

Argument Map on Non-European Cloud Services presented to parliament

AMS-IX NEWS

AMS-IX

AMS-IX

05 February 2025

AMS-IX and ECP | Platform for the Information Society, today handed over a neutral overview map with all the pros and cons for non-European cloud services to the Digital Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives. Members of the House (but also other politicians, policy makers and opinion makers) can use this map to thoroughly read up on and form a position on this complex issue.

The Argument Map provides an overview of all arguments for and against the use of non-European cloud services. With this Argument Map, AMS-IX and ECP want to contribute to the quality of the debate about the use of non-European cloud services and help organizations and governments make informed choices.

The largest non-European cloud services offer unprecedented opportunities for data storage and computing power. As a result, essential Dutch business and government services are increasingly running on non-European cloud services. But what does the large-scale use of these services mean for our digital autonomy? From just an ICT issue, the use of cloud services has grown into a major social issue.

Not having our own robust Dutch or European cloud industry could eventually damage our national security, knowledge position and economic earning power. This is what Lower House members Barbara Kathmann and Jesse Six Dijkstra argue in their initiative paper “In the Clouds” (June 2024). At the same time, non-European cloud services also offer users many advantages. They are easy to use, quick to scale up and offer digital security and stability. The Court of Audit states in its report 'Het Rijk in de cloud' that the central government has little insight into the use of cloud services and does not sufficiently consider the risks (Jan 2025). The Court therefore calls on the government to make better and more strategic risk assessments. The Argument Map can contribute to this.

Should and if so how can the Netherlands take measures to reduce digital dependence?

“For societal debate, it is essential to bring together all parties involved -governments, companies and providers. Only through cooperation can we achieve a strong and independent digital infrastructure for the Netherlands and Europe,” said Marjolijn Bonthuis, program director Digital Security & Trust ECP.

Peter van Burgel, CEO of AMS-IX states “in order to map the complete and factual arguments, we looked with all stakeholders at service, economic and legal aspects as well as security, principle and geopolitical aspects. It is important to weigh as many arguments as possible in this kind of complex dossier.”

A Digital Sovereignty Roundtable discussion will take place Feb. 13 with the Digital Affairs Committee. In January, Zsolt Szabo, State Secretary for Digitalization and Kingdom Relations, stated that it is time to more strictly regulate the use of the cloud by the central government. He called for investments in a strong European digital infrastructure to strengthen the technological autonomy of the Netherlands and Europe.

About the Argument Map

The Argument Map was created by De Argumentenfabriek on behalf of AMS-IX and ECP. The arguments were collected in three meetings with a broad group of experts from business, government and knowledge institutions. In the thinking session, experts were invited to give both pro and con arguments. In this way, a complete possible picture of all the arguments surrounding this topic was created. The Argument Map feeds the public debate by compiling the arguments for and against the use of non-European cloud services into one neutral overview. The Argument Map builds on previous successful Argument Maps created, such as the Argument Map Restricting Encryption and the Argument Map Temporary Intelligence Act.

Anyone can download the map, read it and weigh the arguments in the Map themselves to determine a position. The Argument Map can be downloaded from the websites of AMS-IX and ECP.

Organizations

Experts from the following organizations participated in the thinking sessions of the Argument Diagram:

Each organization has its own perspective on the arguments on the map, which means that they do not have to agree with all the arguments and will also weigh the arguments differently.

Argument Map: Non-European Cloud Services

>> Download Map (Dutch version)

Subscribe to our newsletter

Got a question?