Data can be physically hosted in the UK or EU and still be subject to non-UK or non-EU law, depending on the ownership and control of the provider
What really matters is who owns the hosting company and the legal framework it operates under.
This is something we think about a lot, especially when working with public sector organisations, charities, and teams handling sensitive data.
Recent legal analysis across Europe has highlighted a simple reality. Data can be physically hosted in the EU and still be subject to non-EU laws, such as the US CLOUD Act, depending on the jurisdiction of the company behind the infrastructure.
That is easy to miss. And it matters.
At Green17, we host infrastructure in the UK, typically London or Belfast, and we only work with providers that are owned and governed by UK or EU companies. That way the data, the infrastructure, and the organisation behind it all sit under UK or EU law.
A provider owned or controlled by a US company can still be subject to the US CLOUD Act, even if its servers are physically located in the UK or the EU.
This is not a marketing line.
It is a practical decision based on responsibility, risk, and long-term thinking.
Data sovereignty is not about where a server sits on a map.
It is about the legal framework wrapped around it.
We have looked at a number of popular platforms that offer hosting in places like London and are widely used by many agencies and organisations across Northern Ireland. They are technically strong, but not owned or governed by UK or EU companies, which makes them unsuitable for some of the work we do.
This affects organisations across the UK and the EU, and comes up often for clients in Northern Ireland working across both.
We are not legal specialists, and legislation continues to evolve, but jurisdiction and ownership are considerations we actively assess when designing platforms.
If you are planning your next digital project and want to talk through hosting or data, feel free to ask us.