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What you run, and what it has to survive.
Aarschot · Hosting and IT since 2022
We do not
We do not
read yourdata.
A host has no general duty to monitor what customers store, and that is deliberate in European law rather than a loophole. What it does have is a duty to act once a proper notice arrives. Both halves matter, and most providers explain neither.
- 2022since
- Nonemonitoring
- Noticethen action
- Alwaysreasons given
What we do
Four services, two duties
No general monitoring on one side, and prompt action on a proper notice on the other. Both get explained before you sign.
Hosting
Hosting sites, applications and data, with the legal position explained.
See the programNotice and action
A mechanism anyone can use to report illegal content, acted on properly.
See the programReasons for restrictions
A clear statement of reasons whenever anything is restricted or removed.
See the programIT consultancy
Advising on infrastructure, migrations and what should sit where.
See the program
How it works
How we work
Do not monitor what customers store, act quickly once a precise notice creates actual knowledge, give a clear statement of reasons for any restriction, and never delete data before the retention period in the agreement has run.
Written agreement first
Backups, retention, availability, processor terms.
Notices acted on
Expeditiously, and the reporter told.
Reasons for anything restricted
What, why, and how to contest it.
Working together
What hosting costs
Quoted per service in euro after a first conversation. Availability commitments are whatever the written agreement states.
A single site
Hosting for a site or a small application.
- Written agreement first
- Backups and retention stated
- No content monitoring
- Reasons given for any restriction
- A human to contact
Managed hosting
Hosting plus the support around it.
- Processor agreement in place
- Sub-processors declared
- Restores actually tested
- Notice handling explained
- Retention before any deletion
What we will not do
Said up front, because hosting runs on trust.
- No reading customer data
- No silent suspension
- No deletion inside retention
- No verbal uptime promises
- No legal advice on content
Every engagement is quoted after a free consultation. No subscription.
How we work
Two duties that protect opposite sides
WEB-STORM BV was created on 28 June 2022 and is registered with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises under number 0787.765.506, with its registered office at 11 Grensstraat in Aarschot, Flemish Brabant. The registered activities include computer consultancy, computing infrastructure, data processing and hosting.
Hosting sits under a legal arrangement that is worth explaining because it cuts both ways and almost no provider sets it out. On one side, there is no general obligation on a host to monitor the information it stores or to go hunting for unlawful material. That is deliberate in European law and it is the thing that keeps a provider out of a customer's files. On the other side, the exemption from liability only lasts while the host has no actual knowledge of something illegal. A notice that is sufficiently precise and properly substantiated creates that knowledge, and from that moment the host must act expeditiously. So there is a mechanism anyone can use to report content, notices are handled in a timely, diligent and non-arbitrary way, and the person who reported something is told what was decided. The duty owed back to customers is the mirror of it: where anything is removed, disabled, suspended or restricted, a clear and specific statement of reasons goes with it, saying what was restricted, on what ground, whether it followed a notice, and how to contest it. And data is not deleted before the retention stated in the agreement has run, because a customer should always have a real chance to get their own material back.
Frequently asked
The questions we get most
Do you look at what we store?
No, and there is no general obligation on a host to monitor the information it stores or to search actively for illegal activity. That is a deliberate feature of the European framework rather than a gap, and it is the reason your provider is not reading through your files. What changes the position is actual knowledge of something unlawful, which arrives through a notice rather than through routine inspection.
What makes a complaint a notice?
Precision. A notice must be sufficiently precise and adequately substantiated to be capable of creating actual knowledge, which in practice means identifying what the content is, where it is, and why it is said to be illegal. A vague assertion that something somewhere is objectionable is not a notice and we will say so rather than acting on it. Once a proper notice arrives, the obligation to act expeditiously begins.
What happens if someone reports our content?
It is assessed in a timely, diligent, non-arbitrary and objective way, and you are told. If anything of yours is restricted, you receive a clear and specific statement of reasons setting out what was restricted, the ground relied on, whether it followed a notice or our own check, and how to contest the decision. We will not cut something off and leave you to work out why from a monitoring alert.
Will you delete our data if we fall behind on payment?
Not without the agreement's notice period and retention period having run. Suspension for non-payment or breach follows what the written agreement says, and data is not deleted before the stated retention has expired, so you retain a realistic opportunity to retrieve it. Agreeing that in advance matters far more than it seems to on the day of signing.
Do you guarantee uptime?
Only to the extent a written service level agreement says so, and anything stated verbally about uptime is worth nothing at three in the morning. If availability matters to you, it belongs in the agreement with a number attached. The same goes for backups: do not assume one exists or that it covers what you think it covers unless the agreement says so, and ask when a restore was last actually tested.
Can you tell us whether content is legal?
No. We are not lawyers and we do not give legal advice, and whether a particular piece of content is lawful is a question for your own adviser. What we can tell you is how notices are handled here, what would happen if one arrived about your material, and what you would receive from us if we had to restrict anything. Those are the operational facts you can actually plan around.
Something that needs hosting properly?
A free first conversation, with no obligation.