Data Sovereignty: What UK Businesses Need to Know
A plain-English guide to where your website data lives, who can access it, and why it matters.
What Is Data Sovereignty?
Data sovereignty is about understanding where your business data is stored and, crucially, whose laws apply to it.
It's suddenly in the news because UK businesses are waking up to an uncomfortable reality: just because your data is stored in a UK or European data centre doesn't mean it's protected by UK or European law.
Key Distinction
Data residency = where your data is physically stored (e.g., a London data centre)
Data sovereignty = whose laws apply to that data (e.g., US law)
Example: Your website data could be stored in a London data centre, but if your provider is a US company, US law still applies to that data.
The US CLOUD Act Explained
CLOUD Act stands for Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act, passed in the United States in 2018.
What It Allows
The CLOUD Act allows US government agencies to compel US companies to hand over data regardless of where in the world that data is stored.
What This Means for You
If you host your website with a US-based company like Wix, Squarespace, or GoDaddy, your data can be accessed by US authorities—even if it's physically stored on servers in the European Union or the UK.
This isn't a hypothetical concern.
The CLOUD Act has been used in practice, and it continues to shape how US companies handle data requests from US law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
Sources: US Congress, CLOUD Act (2018); European Data Protection Board guidance on international transfers (2021); UK ICO guidance on international data transfers.
The Numbers Don't Lie
Data sovereignty is moving from a niche IT concern to a boardroom priority across the UK.
of UK firms say data sovereignty is crucial
OVHcloud survey, January 2026
of IT decision-makers worry about geopolitics impacting data sovereignty
Civo research, 2025
of UK IT leaders think the government should stop buying US cloud
Civo research, 2025
actively considering moving away from US providers
Civo research, 2025
Senior Microsoft employees admit to French senate they cannot guarantee sovereignty of European data
French Senate testimony, widely reported
What About Cloudflare and Stripe?
Full transparency: We use some US-based services. Here's why that's different from hosting your data on a US platform.
Data in Transit vs Data at Rest
Data in transit = data moving through the internet (e.g., via a CDN)
Data at rest = data stored on servers (your business content, customer enquiries, team information)
Cloudflare
Cloudflare is a proxy layer that routes traffic to make your website faster and more secure. It does not store your business data at rest.
Your content, customer enquiries, team bios, and case studies remain on UK servers, governed by UK law.
Stripe
Stripe processes payments and has UK and EU data processing agreements in place. They store financial data in compliance with UK and EU regulations.
We are actively exploring UK-based alternatives and will update our approach as the UK payment ecosystem matures.
The Key Point
Your business data, your customers' enquiries, your content—that all lives on UK servers, governed by UK law. We're transparent about where every piece of your data goes.
Five Questions to Ask Your Current Provider
1. Where are your servers physically located?
Many providers say "we have European servers" but don't specify the exact location. If data residency matters to you, you need specifics.
Our answer:
Our servers are physically located in UK data centres. We can provide the exact data centre locations on request.
2. What country is your company registered in?
This determines which laws apply to your data. A US company is subject to the CLOUD Act, even if they operate servers in the UK or EU.
Our answer:
Site Seedling is a trading name of Solutions Delivered Ltd, a UK-registered company (Company No. 12063264, registered in England and Wales). We are governed by UK law, subject to UK courts, and regulated by UK authorities. You can verify this on Companies House at any time.
3. Can foreign governments legally access my data?
This is the CLOUD Act question. If your provider is a US company, the answer is yes—regardless of where your data is stored.
Our answer:
No. Site Seedling is a UK company storing data on UK servers. We are only subject to UK legal frameworks, including the UK Data Protection Act and GDPR. We are not subject to the US CLOUD Act.
4. Where is your support team based?
Offshore support teams can mean longer response times, language barriers, and time zone mismatches. It also raises questions about who has access to your data.
Our answer:
Our support team is based in the UK. When you email us, you're speaking to someone in the same country, in the same time zone, who understands UK business practices.
5. Where does my subscription payment go?
When you pay for a service, are you supporting a UK business or sending money to a US corporation? It's a question of keeping economic value local.
Our answer:
Your subscription supports Solutions Delivered Ltd (Company No. 12063264), a UK-registered small business trading as Site Seedling. We pay full UK corporation tax, VAT, and employer's National Insurance contributions—money that goes directly to HMRC and supports UK public services.
Compare that to the large US tech companies behind Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress.com. Despite earning billions in UK revenue, many US tech giants pay remarkably little UK tax through complex international structures. When you choose a UK provider, your money stays in the UK economy—supporting British jobs, British infrastructure, and British public services rather than flowing to US shareholders via tax-efficient offshore arrangements.
We've Answered All Five. Have They?
Try Site Seedling free for 14 days. No credit card required. Your data stays in the UK, governed by UK law.
Why UK-based matters · Compare to Wix · Squarespace · WordPress