Hardinxveld-Giessendam is the only Dutch municipality not using U.S. cloud services
In the Netherlands, virtually all government websites and communications rely on cloud services operated by major American technology companies—except for one municipality. Hardinxveld-Giessendam is the only municipality in the country that does not use any American cloud services for its data management, Rijnmond reported.
A recent NOS study found 1,722 websites from Dutch governmental, semi-public, and vital organizations depend on at least one American cloud provider.
“The U.S. government is ultimately in control,” ICT expert Bert Hubert told NOS. “That’s a serious risk, especially if there’s a conflict with the U.S. Intercepting communications is technically easy.”
Nine of the 15 Dutch ministries use Microsoft cloud services. All 12 provinces and major institutions—including the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets, the national Security Council of safety regions, and even the Tweede Kamer—rely on U.S. cloud infrastructure.
Concerns have grown since Donald Trump’s re-election, especially after Microsoft was forced to disable the email account of the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Critics fear Trump could pressure organizations through cloud access.
NOS reported the U.S. could potentially shut down or manipulate over 650 Dutch government and critical websites—including those of the central bank, national police, foreign ministry, and Crisis.nl, the emergency response portal—with a single order.
