Host Europe E-mail Migration: From Data Sovereignty to US Vendor Lock-in
Host Europe, one of Germany's largest hosting providers, is migrating all e-mail accounts to Microsoft 365 from May 2025. What initially appears to be a purely technical change reveals itself upon closer inspection as a significant risk to digital sovereignty and data protection – with the potential consequence of vendor lock-in. This problem illustrates a fundamental European dilemma: the continuing dependence on US technology corporations.
Legal Risks in Detail
The migration can have serious data protection implications – particularly for businesses. Host Europe had originally advertised secure data storage in Germany and compliance with German data protection standards. However, this promise was already compromised in 2017 when they were acquired by the US corporation GoDaddy.
With the now planned transition to Microsoft 365, the situation is worsening: companies that had deliberately chosen not to use US providers now face the risk of potential vendor lock-in – i.e., through the migration, they will be closely tied to the Microsoft ecosystem, from which a later exit would only be possible with considerable effort and high costs.
US CLOUD Act versus GDPR – an Irresolvable Contradiction
Particularly critical: As a US company, Microsoft is subject to the CLOUD Act, which grants US authorities extensive access rights to stored data – regardless of where the servers are physically located. This stands in direct contradiction to the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The currently valid Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework (TADPF) was intended to mitigate this contradiction, but it stands on legally uncertain ground – not least due to political developments in the US. Experts currently assume that this agreement – like its predecessors "Safe Harbor" and "Privacy Shield" – could fail before the European Court of Justice.
If the TADPF is overturned, companies will lack the legal basis for using Microsoft 365 – with potentially high fines as a consequence. This turns technological dependence into a substantial compliance risk.
European Service Providers as Secure Alternatives
Those who wish to avoid data protection risks and escape vendor lock-in should act now and turn their backs on both Host Europe and Microsoft 365. Numerous European providers offer comparable solutions with full GDPR compliance.
One example is the German service provider mailbox.org, which offers a comprehensive solution with e-mail, calendar, contacts, office applications, video conferencing, and cloud storage. Unlike Microsoft, all data is stored exclusively in German data centres – and is therefore not subject to the US CLOUD Act.
Switching to mailbox.org: Simple, Quick, and Secure
Moving from Host Europe to mailbox.org is straightforward and can be accomplished without data loss. mailbox.org offers a free e-mail migration service that can complete the transition in just a few hours, depending on the data volume. During the migration, both systems can be used in parallel, and existing domains remain intact.
The switch in six steps:
- Register with mailbox.org and select the appropriate tariff
- Set up your own domain
- Start the free migration via the relocation service
- Verify the migrated data
- Change the DNS entries to mailbox.org
- Cancel the old Host Europe account
For Private Users Too: Data Security Instead of Data Collection
Private users are also affected by the Host Europe migration and should reconsider their digital sovereignty. Switching to mailbox.org brings decisive advantages: no data analysis for advertising purposes, complete encryption, and data processing according to the strictest German data protection law.
Conclusion: Reclaiming Digital Sovereignty
The migration from Host Europe to Microsoft 365 symbolises the strong dominance of US technology corporations. It carries significant legal risks – and weakens digital self-determination in Europe.
With mailbox.org, a reliable and data protection-compliant alternative is available – developed for the needs of European users. Those who act now not only strengthen their own security but also make an important contribution to the independence and resilience of European digital infrastructure.
About Host Europe
Host Europe was founded in 1997 and developed into one of the leading hosting providers in Germany. The company originally advertised "Hosting made in Germany" and secure data storage according to German standards. In 2017, Host Europe was acquired by the US company GoDaddy, one of the world's largest domain registrars. The now announced migration to Microsoft 365 effectively marks the end of the promise of purely German data storage.