Europe Seeks to End Its Dangerous Dependence on US Internet Technology
By Johan Linåker, Lund University
As the digital world becomes ever more integral to everyday life, Europe is increasingly recognizing the risks posed by its heavy reliance on internet technology and cloud services dominated by US-based tech giants. Recent incidents and political developments have sparked calls for the continent to build greater digital sovereignty and resilience to protect its infrastructure, economy, and citizens.
A Fragile Digital Dependency
Imagine a scenario where the internet suddenly ceases to function: payment systems at local stores fail, hospitals lose access to critical healthcare systems, work software and data vanish, and communication platforms go offline. This is no flight of fancy but a plausible reality given technical failures, cyberattacks, natural disasters, or political tensions. The modern digital ecosystem’s heavy dependence on a handful of US cloud service providers puts Europe in a vulnerable position.
A striking illustration of this fragility came in October 2025, when Amazon Web Services (AWS) faced a major outage that caused widespread disruption to services including banking applications. Shortly after, in December 2025, a Cloudflare failure took down major platforms like LinkedIn and Zoom, hampering communication across the globe. Earlier in April 2025, a massive power cut in Spain, Portugal, and parts of southwestern France highlighted how electricity disruptions can cascade into cloud service failures.
Currently, three US companies—AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud—command approximately 70% of Europe’s cloud computing market. In contrast, European cloud providers hold just about 15%. This concentration not only heightens the risk of service interruptions but also raises concerns about data sovereignty amid geopolitical pressures.
Calls for a New European Digital Independence
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, EU President Ursula von der Leyen emphasized the urgent need for Europe to pursue a "new form of independence" in technology and security. Acknowledging the structural imperative to reduce dependence on foreign technology, European governments have started to explore paths towards digital sovereignty.
One notable initiative is taking place in Helsingborg, a coastal city in Sweden, where a year-long trial is underway to assess how public services would cope with a complete digital blackout. The project is studying critical questions such as whether elderly patients could still obtain medical prescriptions or if social services could maintain continuity without digital systems. The findings aim to lay the groundwork for crisis preparedness models that other European municipalities can adopt, underscoring the importance of seeing digital infrastructure on par with physical assets like roads and power grids.
Progress Towards Sovereignty Through Open Source and Collaboration
Efforts to reclaim digital control include shifting from proprietary software managed by global tech giants to open-source alternatives seen as digital public goods. In Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany, the state government has drastically reduced its reliance on Microsoft, cancelling nearly 70% of its licenses and aiming to minimize big tech usage by 2030. Similarly, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy are investing in national and transnational projects to develop interoperable open-source platforms for communication, collaboration, and document management. Sweden’s National Insurance Agency has pioneered a domestic system delivering chat, video, and online collaboration services hosted within its own data centers, offering a sovereign alternative to foreign cloud platforms for public authorities.
The Road Ahead: Preparing for Digital Resilience
The path to digital sovereignty requires treating digital infrastructure as a critical public resource that demands control, ongoing maintenance, and crisis planning. Outsourcing these responsibilities to global technology corporations exposes European countries to external influence and operational risks.
Recognizing this, the European Union has introduced a cloud sovereignty framework to guide member states in procuring cloud services that guarantee European control over data. The forthcoming Cloud and AI Development Act is expected to provide further focus and resources to establish a resilient, secure, and sovereign digital ecosystem.
For both governments and private companies, prioritizing security, transparency, openness, and interoperability in cloud service procurement should go beyond mere cost considerations. Individuals too can contribute by critically evaluating where their emails, photos, and personal data are stored, who has access, and how easily their information can be backed up or transferred.
While complete digital independence is neither feasible nor desirable, Europe’s collaborative efforts can ensure that its digital infrastructure remains robust and accessible, even in times of crisis — an expectation that should now be as fundamental as that for physical infrastructure.
Key Topics: Cloud Computing, European Union, Digital Sovereignty, Technology, Cybersecurity, Ursula von der Leyen
Johan Linåker is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Computer Science at Lund University. This article is part of a partnership with Lund University and is published in The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.
