Tech Users Embrace Non-American Brands in Pursuit of Digital Independence

In a bid to bolster digital sovereignty, the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) in Germany has unveiled a dual strategy. The approach aims to fortify the EU market and the domestic digital industry, while ensuring international products are technically secured for sovereign use.

One of the key players in this movement is Wero, a German real-time online payment service. Despite the service provider's identity remaining unknown, Wero has made significant strides, integrating into popular apps like ING and Revolut. It allows users to send and receive money instantly and free of charge, using just a phone number or email instead of an IBAN. Wero is part of the European Payments Initiative (EPI), a consortium of banks creating a secure, sovereign digital payments system within Europe.

However, concerns about data protection have surfaced recently. Last week, PayPal's security systems failed, allowing fraudulent direct debits to go through. In response, the BSI urges consumers to consider data protection when choosing a product or service, in addition to its basic functionality. The BSI also recommends that consumers pay attention to what information the provider offers regarding security measures and contact options in case of incidents.

The issue of data protection is not limited to online payments. A study indicates that 67 percent of people in Germany aged 16 and above use generative AI at least occasionally, with almost all usage limited to the three leading providers: OpenAI (ChatGPT), Microsoft (Copilot), and Google (Gemini). The German equivalent, Aleph Alpha, focuses on specific AI solutions for corporate clients and public clients that must meet high data protection requirements.

On the other hand, the French AI startup Mistral AI (Le Chat), which specializes in open-source language models and prioritizes privacy, is still largely unknown in Germany. The continued use of widely used, user-friendly apps and products despite concerns about data protection and dependencies is a phenomenon psychologists call cognitive dissonance.

The German government, along with France and the EU Commission, aims to host a summit on digital sovereignty in Berlin on November 18. The goal is to minimize risks and ensure the resilience of economies. Sixty-eight percent of respondents in a survey believe that Germany is too dependent on the USA and China in the field of AI, and sixty percent want Germany to become less dependent on US AI companies.

In the realm of operating systems, Microsoft has ended free support for Windows 10 on October 14, leaving users to deal with any security vulnerabilities on their own after that date. The minimum requirements for a device to run Windows 11 are so high that many otherwise fully functional devices will need to be replaced, unless the user is willing to switch to another operating system. This has been criticized as causing unnecessary costs and contributing to e-waste.

Florian Glatzner of the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv) has noticed that many users have a "bad feeling in the pit of their stomach" about software and hardware from China and the USA. As the push for digital sovereignty continues, it seems that the focus on secure, European alternatives is gaining momentum.