Alderman Alexander Scholtes, responsible for ICT and the digital city, is discussing with the owners of six Amsterdam data centers how the city can gain more control over digital infrastructure. The municipality wants to see server space reserved for European parties. Equinix refuses to adapt its business model. Director Michiel Eielts is clear: full digital autonomy is a utopia.
Scholtes’ discussion with six data centers currently under construction centers on growing concerns regarding dependence on American cloud providers. Scholtes outlined a scenario in which Washington orders American tech companies to stop providing services to Dutch governments. “Then our municipal services would grind to a halt,” the alderman told Nieuwsuur. “Our civil servants might no longer be able to send emails, issue permits, and we could lose our citizens’ data.”
The municipality wants data centers to reserve a portion of their “scarce” server space for Amsterdam-based, Dutch, and European entities and governments.
Equinix will not change its business model
Equinix is building two of the six licensed data centers in Amsterdam. The construction of new data centers is now prohibited in the capital. Eielts therefore did not see the municipality’s invitation to discuss the matter coming, but acknowledges that the atmosphere has changed. His response to Scholtes’ request, however, is clear: “We are not going to change our business model.” Giving customers priority based on their origin does not fit the market logic of a colocation service provider, he argues.
At the same time, Eielts advocates allowing new data centers in Amsterdam. Without expansion, dependence on foreign countries will only increase, he argues. That argument has so far fallen on deaf ears with the municipality, partly due to limited capacity on the power grid.
Even if the municipality secures server space for European parties, a fundamental issue remains. Equinix is an American company. Under the U.S. Cloud Act, Washington could theoretically demand data stored on Equinix servers. Scholtes acknowledges this vulnerability. Eielts, however, argues that it is technically impossible. Equinix cannot access its customers’ servers and would never comply with such a request. But from a legal standpoint, that uncertainty remains.
Scholtes acknowledges that data centers are not formally obligated to do anything. “They decide for themselves to whom they lease capacity. But it would already be a huge step if they reserved space for a European party at all.” Whether he has received that commitment has not yet been disclosed.