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Sovereign or Not? 2026 Hyperscaler Guide
Hyperscalers face legal clawbacks under U.S. CLOUD Act despite claims of data sovereignty.
In brief
Hyperscalers face legal clawbacks under U.S. CLOUD Act despite claims of data sovereignty. Hyperscalers cannot resolve U.S. CLOUD Act data access issues for non-U.S. companies, forcing buyers to choose between self-hosting or local partners. Originally reported by SiliconANGLE.
Quick answers
- Sovereign or Not?
- The 2026 Hyperscaler Buyer’s Guide explores data sovereignty in cloud computing.
- What is the key takeaway from Sovereign or Not? 2026 Hyperscaler Guide?
- Hyperscalers cannot resolve U.S. CLOUD Act data access issues for non-U.S. companies, forcing buyers to choose between self-hosting or local partners.
Sovereign or Not?
The 2026 Hyperscaler Buyer’s Guide explores data sovereignty in cloud computing.
Research Background
Amit Eyal Govrin, lead analyst for sovereign AI at theCUBE Research, started researching sovereignty concerns four years ago.
Kubiya Experience
Kubiya deployed agentic systems in enterprise environments as early as September 2023, creating dependency concerns.
Buyer Concerns
Enterprises worried about losing control of their AI transformation through vendor dependency on hyperscalers.
5 Pillars of Sovereignty
The framework assesses hyperscalers on control over operational, technological, legal, financial, and data pillars.
CLOUD Act Clawback
U.S. government can access data from any American cloud regardless of location, creating legal conflicts for non-U.S. companies.
Hyperscaler Responses
AWS and Microsoft admitted they cannot guarantee data sovereignty for non-U.S. companies under the CLOUD Act.
Solutions Offered
Buyers can self-host data or use local partners to mitigate U.S. CLOUD Act risks, but no perfect solutions exist.
Data Portability Costs
Moving data out of hyperscalers costs $8,400 with one vendor versus $54,000 to $79,000 with others.
Latin America Blind Spot
São Paulo is the only city where all seven hyperscalers are present, but none meet Brazil’s data requirements.
European Sovereignty Law
European regulations don’t reach the top level of sovereignty, and costs to leave hyperscalers are unclear.
No Off Switch Test
None of the hyperscalers have tested the off switch for their systems, with only one lasting several hours.
Next Steps
TheCUBE Research will release more guides on neoclouds, OEMs, telcos, and specialized sovereign initiatives.
Sovereignty Index
The report scores seven hyperscalers across five regions on 17 tests and a legal ladder.
Buyer Data
The guide includes on-the-record answers from hyperscalers and surveys of actual buyers.
The short version
Hyperscalers cannot resolve U.S. CLOUD Act data access issues for non-U.S. companies, forcing buyers to choose between self-hosting or local partners.
