*Last updated: February 5, 2026 | Reading time: 4 minutes*
BRUSSELS — Feb 5, 2026
While the headlines focus on AI safety, a quieter but legally potent war is brewing over "Data Sovereignty." The core question: Who owns a bookmark?
If you save a video on TikTok, does that link belong to you, or is it merely rented data on ByteDance's servers? As of February 2026, regulators are increasingly leaning towards the former.
## The "Right to Exit"
New amendments to the Digital Services Act (DSA) proposed this month aim to enforce a "Right to Exit." This would mandate that platforms allow users to export their saved data—likes, bookmarks, and collections—in a universal, machine-readable format.
But the tech giants aren't waiting for the law to pass. They are building taller walls.
"We are seeing platforms intentionally obfuscate metadata to prevent export," warns privacy advocate Jonas Klien. "They know that if you can easily move your 'Save' history to a neutral dashboard, their lock-in advantage evaporates."
## The Rise of Sovereign Dashboards
This regulatory pressure is driving the adoption of "Sovereign Dashboards"—third-party tools like Voyena that exist outside the platform silos.
These tools operate on a principle of Data Independence:
1. Local-First Logic: The data structure exists on the user's terms, not the platform's API availability.
2. Universal Formatting: Converting proprietary "tweets" or "posts" into standardized web objects.
3. Archival Persistence: Ensuring the data survives even if the original platform suspends the account.
## Why It Matters for Business
For enterprise researchers and developers, relying on platform-owned storage is now considered a "compliance risk." If a crucial documentation thread on X is deleted, and you have no sovereign backup, that institutional knowledge is lost.
Data Sovereignty isn't just a legal concept. It's an operational necessity.