Digital Sovereignty on Trial: EU’s Crusade for Protection in a Conflicted World

Etienne Drouard, CIPP/E, Partner, Hogan Lovells

Clarisse Girot, Acting Head of Division on Data Flows, Governance and Privacy, OECD

Philippe Latombe, Member of French Parliament, member of the CNIL 

Solange Viegas Dos Reis, Chief Legal Officer, OVHcloud 

For decades, the EU has championed exporting its data protection values rather than sealing off its digital borders. But Schrems I and II cracked that vision wide open, revealing deep tensions between transatlantic surveillance and European privacy rights. Now, with the Latombe case challenging the latest EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, digital sovereignty is no longer just a catchline: It is a battleground. This session will unpack the EU’s evolving quest for data protection adequacy principle: what it means, how it is being shaped by courts and politics, and which regulatory strategy is still to be found after 10 years of uncertainty. Can the EU continue to promote openness while asserting control? How should businesses navigate this uncertain terrain? With the Latombe decision potentially in hand, this timely discussion brings legal and political insight straight from the frontlines.

What you will learn:

• Unpack the competing definitions of digital sovereignty — from control over data infrastructure and hosting to safeguarding personal data from foreign surveillance and extraterritorial interference.
• How current legal instruments — like the GDPR, adequacy decisions, DPF and contractual mechanisms — can or cannot align with Europe’s push for digital resilience in 2025.
• The future scenarios for global data flows, including diverging paths for EU-U.S. and EU-China transfers, and what businesses should do now to stay resilient amid legal and geopolitical shifts.