Europe is shifting away from its dependence on American Big Tech. Since the tumultuous onset of President Donald Trump’s second term, European governments and businesses have escalated their efforts to reduce reliance on US-based technology. This movement appears to be part of a broader strategy to assert digital sovereignty across the continent.
The push to minimize dependence on American tech is marked not only by political resolutions but also by significant investment in local tech development. A recent analysis has revealed numerous instances of European entities—be they companies, governmental organizations, or educational institutions—transitioning away from American technology in favor of open-source or domestic alternatives. Data collected indicates that this trend is probably just the beginning.
“The aggressive policies of the Trump administration, which have often contradicted international law and democratic tenets, have led to numerous wake-up calls,” noted Marietje Schaake, a non-resident fellow at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center and a former member of the European Parliament.
These initiatives are becoming increasingly widespread. Recently, the European Commission unveiled a comprehensive plan to lessen reliance on US tech solutions. Likewise, the European Parliament has changed its default search engine from Google to the French-based Qwant. Additionally, thousands of French government employees are adopting their own open-source office software, LaSuite, as they aim to liberate themselves from American technology. A forthcoming open-source office suite, backed by numerous European tech firms and referred to as Euro-Office, is set to launch shortly. Cities throughout the Netherlands, France, and Germany are also pivoting away from both Microsoft Office and Google Docs.
This transition extends beyond productivity software. The Dutch government is migrating its coding repositories away from Microsoft-owned GitHub to its designated hosting space. Finland has recently opted against transferring its electoral data to Amazon’s cloud services, while Belgium’s .be domain management organization has indicated plans to shift away from AWS. Meanwhile, Eurosky has emerged as an alternative to Bluesky, leveraging the same foundational AT Protocol that supports both platforms.
Data collected by experts highlights the significant trend of European entities abandoning US-based technology. The instances cataloged represent a critical step toward digital self-reliance.
Many of these “digital sovereignty” strategies were already in development before Trump’s second term; however, recent events—including US sanctions against officials affiliated with the International Criminal Court—have accelerated this momentum. The International Criminal Court itself has begun moving away from Microsoft technologies.
Concerns driving Europe’s shift include issues related to data sovereignty, changing geopolitical relationships, reliance on a limited number of tech companies, and potential data access under US law, such as the CLOUD Act. As noted by Schaake, this movement indicates a growing desire among citizens and organizations to regain control over their digital futures, disentangled from the influences of large corporations and specific political agendas.