The Dutch government prevents an American company from taking over under the pretext of “risks that threaten the public interest.”

The Dutch government has prevented US IT giant Kyndryl from acquiring Solvinity, a Dutch cloud company that hosts the Dutch online identity platform. The government in The Hague said the deal constituted a “potential risk to the public interest.”

The government has imposed a “total ban” on the takeover, Dutch Digital Economy Minister Willemen Aerdts said in a machine-translated message published on Monday. The deal would have allowed Kyndryl to purchase Solvinity for an undisclosed sum. Solvinity hosts a platform called DigiD, a service run by the Dutch government that allows the country’s residents to verify their identity when accessing public services.

The deal has raised concerns that the deal would mean DigiD’s data is under foreign control and could be claimed by US authorities.

While the Dutch government has not given a clear reason for blocking the takeover, the move comes as several European countries move to reduce their reliance on US tech giants at a time when the Trump administration has become increasingly unpredictable and vindictive.

US law allows government authorities, including law enforcement and intelligence agencies, to require US companies to hand over data held in offshore data centers, regardless of that country’s data protection laws.

Politico first reported the news. Kerdrill told the newspaper that the company was “extremely disappointed” by the decision.