Digital sovereignty explained

From buzzword to checklist.

Digital sovereignty is the ability of an organisation, or a country, to decide for itself about its data, its software and its infrastructure, without depending on parties that answer to foreign law. For a video platform that means: who owns it, which law applies, where it runs, who operates it, and whether you can leave.

Every provider now calls itself sovereign. This guide shows how to tell the difference.

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The EU Cloud Sovereignty Framework

The European Commission’s Cloud Sovereignty Framework measures sovereignty on eight objectives, including strategic, legal, data, operational, supply chain, technology, security and environmental sovereignty. Each is scored from SEAL-0 (none) to SEAL-4 (full). Public bodies use it in tenders for cloud services.

There is no certification scheme: a provider can assess itself, and a contracting authority establishes the official level in a tender. So ask for the substantiation, not just the score.

Five questions for every provider

Who owns the company, and who owns the owner?
Which law applies to the company that controls my data?
On whose infrastructure does it run, including the delivery network?
Who operates and supports it, and from where?
Can I leave without fees, in open formats?

We listed eight technical checks you can run yourself on any video platform.

Frequently asked questions

What is SEAL?

SEAL is the scale of the EU Cloud Sovereignty Framework, from SEAL-0 to SEAL-4, scored per sovereignty objective.

How does StreamZilla score?

In our self-assessment, StreamZilla reaches SEAL-4 on seven of the eight objectives and SEAL-3 on the remaining one. The full substantiation is available on request.

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StreamZilla is the all-in-one video platform from the team that put the first live stream on the web, with 32 years of experience. It is in private beta, and joining is free: you get early access, a direct line to the people who build it, and a say in what comes next.