Europe's initiative for self-rule in digital domain: Pursuit of digital sovereignty by Europe

In the digital age, the concept of digital sovereignty is gaining traction across Europe. This movement aims to shape a future that reflects European values, laws, and long-term interests, rather than relying on foreign platforms for sensitive digital functions.

The strategic independence is being sought through open protocols like OAuth and OpenID Connect, which enable multi-cloud orchestration, and open-source platforms, offering transparency and adaptability. These tools are crucial for preventing vendor lock-in and fostering a diverse provider ecosystem, encouraging innovation and flexibility in Europe's digital strategy.

Europe's dependency on foreign hyperscalers like Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Google for government services, healthcare systems, and private sector infrastructure has become a concern. To address this, European governments are taking steps to reduce their reliance on non-European providers. For instance, Germany has started phasing out Microsoft Teams in favour of domestic collaboration tools, and Denmark is undergoing a nationwide migration to open-source Linux systems.

The path to digital sovereignty is not without challenges. A practical approach involves auditing digital dependencies, identifying weak points, and implementing a phased diversification strategy. This process requires governments to play a role in policy, procurement, investing in skills, and supporting local innovation ecosystems.

The US CLOUD Act, which gives American authorities the right to access data stored on US-owned servers, even if that data resides in Europe, is another concern. This underscores the importance of maintaining clear jurisdictional control over local hosting. Europe should move towards digital sovereignty by implementing local hosting with clear jurisdictional control.

The journey towards digital sovereignty is not about anti-American sentiment, economic protectionism, or rejection of global collaboration. Instead, it's a recalibration of risk for resilience and independence. Outgoing President Biden warned of a rising "tech industrial complex" before his departure, and French AI and digital minister has warned of digital "predators" undermining European autonomy.

Efforts towards digital sovereignty in Europe include initiatives like Gaia-X, supported by Austrian government bodies and coordinated by AIT. This initiative brings together stakeholders from business, research, and administration to develop sustainable data sovereignty and federated data spaces. Measures taken include adherence to and promotion of EU regulations like the GDPR, Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act, and Data Act, as well as concrete pilot projects and real test environments for sovereign data strategies facilitated by Gaia-X.

Another advocate for European IT security solutions is ESET. Their involvement highlights the collaborative nature of the digital sovereignty movement, which seeks to foster a resilient and independent digital future for Europe.

Europe's initiative for self-rule in digital domain: Pursuit of digital sovereignty by Europe