Europe is being threatened with loss of control over its digital infrastructure because it relies so heavily on America’s technology giants. These are alarming comments about whether Europe can protect its data, maintain its autonomy, and compete globally against U.S.-based tech giants. Miguel De Bruycker, who is responsible for the cybersecurity department of Belgium, recently stated that “Europe has lost the Internet.”
Are U.S.-based tech companies sabotaging Europe?
Miguel De Bruycker was referring to the dominance of U.S.-based tech giants in key areas of the Internet, such as cloud computing, social media, and digital platforms, ms when he stated that Europe had lost the Internet. In particular, his reference to the Internet highlights the dependence of European countries on these companies and how they are reliant upon them for their cloud services, social media, search engines, etc. Therefore, if there were to be a problem with these companies, it would put the data of all European citizens at risk and would limit their ability to comply with EU data protection legislation.
One of the main issues is cloud computing
The majority of Europe’s cloud services are provided by three U.S. companies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. This makes many European citizens’ sensitive data reside on U.S. company servers, and therefore, subject to U.S. law. Specifically, the CLOUD Act provides a mechanism whereby the U.S. government can obtain access to data held by U.S. companies regardless of where it is located in the world.
De Bruycker stated that this dependence on non-EU companies undermines the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and diminishes the sovereignty of individual EU member states.
“If we cannot ensure that European data is kept under the control of Europeans, we have lost a fundamental element of our independence”
There is also a national security threat from reliance on foreign technology companies
The critical infrastructure of European countries, i.e., the health care systems and the financial networks, relies on platforms owned by companies that are not under the jurisdiction of the EU. Therefore, these infrastructures are potentially vulnerable to attacks during periods of heightened international tensions or trade disputes.
Many experts agree that the reason for this vulnerability is that Europe has failed to develop alternative cloud services and, therefore, is dependent on foreign-based service providers. Although initiatives such as GAIA-X have been started to create a federated European cloud ecosystem, the pace of development has been slow, and the take-up has been relatively low compared to those available from U.S. companies.
De Bruycker emphasized that the question of digital sovereignty is not merely a technical issue, but rather a strategic one.
Europe needs to invest in creating its own digital infrastructure
If Europe wishes to remain an important player in the global economy, it needs to invest in creating its own digital infrastructure and decrease its reliance on external providers.
De Bruycker says:
“If Europe wants to remain relevant in the global economy, it must invest in its own digital infrastructure and reduce its reliance on external providers.”
Industry leaders are advocating for increased investment in R&D and incentives to companies to start using cloud services offered by EU companies. Experts warn that this will take continued political will and cooperation between EU member states to reverse the decades-long trend of relying on foreign service providers.
The warning from Belgium’s cyber chief has served as a wake-up call for Europe. As the digital transformation continues to accelerate, the continent is facing a choice of continuing on a path of dependency or investing in developing resilient and sovereign digital infrastructure. If Europe fails to act, it may find itself permanently disadvantaged in a world where control of data and technology determines power.
