The bulk of European data is stored on US cloud services. Companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Google own over two-thirds of the European market, while US-based AI pioneers like OpenAI and Anthropic are leading the artificial intelligence boom. According to a European Parliament report, the EU “relies on non-EU countries for over 80 percent of digital products, services, infrastructure, and intellectual property”.

That dependency on a handful of providers has left the EU extremely vulnerable to sovereignty risks in its public and private sectors.

With that fear in mind, EU lawmakers are pushing for alternatives to US Big Tech, and providing homegrown substitutes to Google, Open AI, Microsoft and others.

France, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy have begun investing in open-source platforms. Open-source means that the technology – hardware or software – is available to be modified, reviewed, and shared. Certain websites like Switch to EU and european-alternatives.eu also provide lists of European or "European-friendly" digital substitutes that can replace US Big Tech: Mastodon can be an alternative to Elon Musk’s X, Switzerland’s Proton Mail can replace Gmail, etc.

Europe’s digital reliance on US big tech: Does the EU have a plan?

“The regional government of Schleswig-Holstein proves the fact that one can create a sovereign digital infrastructure, while working with domestic and European vendors," Johan Linåker, senior researcher at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden and adjunct assistant professor at Lund University said, "Myths regarding security and usability are no more. All of Europe should be pointing their eyes in their direction."

Can Europe wean itself off population replacement and the authoritarianism and censorship that replacing a countries traditional population requires. No idea why you worry about US tech when the countries are about to cease to exist as we know them.

Apparently the UK( where Xmas festivals and English flags are banned - but not Palestinian or isis flags😅)banged up 12,000 souls last year for uncomfortable political tweets. More than China & Russia combined. Absolutely outrageously and a clear sign of a failed state. Cheers lefties, nice 1.

10 minutes ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

Can Europe wean itself off population replacement and the authoritarianism and censorship that replacing a countries traditional population requires. No idea why you worry about US tech when the countries are about to cease to exist as we know them.

Apparently the UK( where Xmas festivals and English flags are banned - but not Palestinian or isis flags😅)banged up 12,000 souls last year for uncomfortable political tweets. More than China & Russia combined. Absolutely outrageously and a clear sign of a failed state. Cheers lefties, nice 1.

Hello, is that you Donald? Sure sounds like it, talking a ton of horse manure.

English flags fly from thousands of lamp posts and in people's gardens.

Xmas lights and parties were in full swing last Christmas as always.

Regarding online tweets, of the 12,000+ arrests in 2023, less than 10% (1,119) resulted in a sentence.

The number of convictions and sentencings for social media offences has actually decreased "dramatically" over the last decade, despite the rise in arrests. 

18 minutes ago, bannork said:

The bulk of European data is stored on US cloud services. Companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Google own over two-thirds of the European market, while US-based AI pioneers like OpenAI and Anthropic are leading the artificial intelligence boom. According to a European Parliament report, the EU “relies on non-EU countries for over 80 percent of digital products, services, infrastructure, and intellectual property”.

That dependency on a handful of providers has left the EU extremely vulnerable to sovereignty risks in its public and private sectors.

With that fear in mind, EU lawmakers are pushing for alternatives to US Big Tech, and providing homegrown substitutes to Google, Open AI, Microsoft and others.

France, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy have begun investing in open-source platforms. Open-source means that the technology – hardware or software – is available to be modified, reviewed, and shared. Certain websites like Switch to EU and european-alternatives.eu also provide lists of European or "European-friendly" digital substitutes that can replace US Big Tech: Mastodon can be an alternative to Elon Musk’s X, Switzerland’s Proton Mail can replace Gmail, etc.

Europe’s digital reliance on US big tech: Does the EU have a plan?

“The regional government of Schleswig-Holstein proves the fact that one can create a sovereign digital infrastructure, while working with domestic and European vendors," Johan Linåker, senior researcher at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden and adjunct assistant professor at Lund University said, "Myths regarding security and usability are no more. All of Europe should be pointing their eyes in their direction."

The EU could, if it had an industrial policy, but it's not really the case. It was addressed by the Draghi report, but it has been left in a drawer and quickly forgotten.

Actually, the EU has a competition policy which prevents the emergence of industrial giants able to compete with US mega-firms. The main reason being that only 2 or 3 large firms would remain in each strategic sector, most of them being German, then French, and from a few other major European countries. There's no way the other European countries would accept it.