Made in Europe
Proud to be trusted in Europe
Softcrow is a Dutch company, founded in 1991. Our infrastructure, our team and our ownership are fully European. That means: if a deposit is ever needed, Dutch law applies. No foreign parent company, no ambiguity about which legal system governs. That is what we are: a fully European Trusted Third Party.
Zero-knowledge architecture and end-to-end encryption were not adaptations to the CLOUD Act or the GDPR. That was simply how we built escrow, 35 years ago. A neutral custodian should not have access to the contents of what it stores. That was true in the analog era, when we worked with physical carriers in sealed envelopes, stored in aluminium cases in fireproof safes (S120DIS). But it holds true now more than ever.
In the analog era, physical security guaranteed that no one could access the contents. In the digital era, there is no envelope. A deposit is an encrypted file on a Softcrow server, where the key is held exclusively by the party entitled to claim the deposit. Softcrow never holds that key.
That is a deliberate choice. It limits our business model, but it keeps our role as a neutral custodian uncompromised. Your source code is often the most important intellectual property of your company. Without the key, it is technically impossible for anyone to access it (through Softcrow).
The threat today comes from multiple directions: governments demanding access under the CLOUD Act or Schrems II, hybrid warfare in which hackers play an ever greater role, and AI models that expose and exploit weaknesses in existing systems at remarkable speed. In this era, zero-knowledge is not a given, but a requirement.
Why this matters more now
Digital sovereignty has moved from a technical preference to a political and legal necessity. The CLOUD Act, Schrems II and growing requirements from governments and regulators make one thing clear: where data sits and which law applies matters.
For escrow, this carries extra weight. A deposit contains source code, business data or cloud environments, often the most sensitive assets of an organisation. You want to know that the custodian is fully European and that no foreign authority can demand access under foreign law.
For Softcrow, this is not a new promise. It is our architecture from day one.
What this means in practice
Storage exclusively within the EU Deposits are stored in ISO 27001-certified data centres in the EU, with daily backups in two independent data centres, also within the EU. No American cloud platform.
Free from the CLOUD and USA PATRIOT Act The storage falls outside US jurisdiction by virtue of its organisational structure. A European company that hosts its storage with Amazon, Google or Microsoft falls under the CLOUD Act, even if the servers are in the EU.
Zero-knowledge Softcrow has no access to the contents of deposits. The supplier encrypts client-side, before delivery. Softcrow receives only encrypted files and never holds the encryption key.
Encryption key with the client The supplier manages the encryption key and shares it with the beneficiary outside Softcrow.
Dutch law Softcrow Trusted Electronic Services B.V. is incorporated and established in the Netherlands. The escrow relationship is governed by Dutch law. Rights are enforceable before a Dutch court, with a party that is reachable here.
Private and independent ownership No external investors, no parent company. Softcrow is private and independent, as it was at founding.
Integrity check Weekly SHA256 checksum per deposit confirms that files are stored unchanged.
Frequently asked questions
Is EU storage through an American company sufficient?
No. The CLOUD and USA PATRIOT Act apply to the company, not to the server location. An American company with servers in Frankfurt, or a European company that hosts its storage with Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud Platform, still falls under this legislation. Sovereignty requires a European organisational structure without dependence on an American cloud platform.
How long has Softcrow been doing this?
Since its founding in 1991. Zero-knowledge storage and end-to-end encryption are not adaptations to current regulation. They are part of the architecture as designed from the very beginning.
Which law governs an escrow agreement with Softcrow?
Dutch law. Softcrow is a Dutch company. The escrow agreement is governed by Dutch law and in a dispute the Dutch court has jurisdiction. This applies to the release of a deposit as well: a beneficiary can enforce their rights against a party established in the EU and subject to EU oversight.
Who needs sovereign escrow?
Organisations with legal obligations to keep data within the EU, or with clients and shareholders who require this. In practice: government and semi-government, healthcare, financial services and organisations in sectors where data location and legal certainty carry significant weight.
Want to know which service fits your situation, or do you have questions about our European approach?