The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

By Jeffrey Goldfarb

NEW YORK, June 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - In nixing Kyndryl’s €100 mln plan to buy Solvinity, the government effectively likened Washington to Beijing when it comes to data protection. Transatlantic clashes over tech sovereignty made the timing tough. The decision also signals new hurdles for globetrotting American CEOs.

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CONTEXT NEWS

The Dutch government on May 26 blocked the €100 mln takeover of cloud services provider Solvinity by larger U.S.-based peer Kyndryl, citing public interest concerns following advice from the domestic agency that screens foreign investments.

Kyndryl's deal raised concerns among Dutch legislators because Solvinity's technology is used by DigiD, the digital ID system citizens use to access medical, pension and tax information.

Following the decision, Kyndryl said "the politicization of this process has overshadowed" the benefits of the transaction. Solvinity, which is owned by British investment firm Vitruvian Partners, said it "continues to engage in dialogue" with authorities over national security, digital autonomy and protecting critical Dutch infrastructure.