Should Europe remove from American technology?

Imagine whether US President Donald Trump can flip a switch and shut down the Internet of Europe.

It can also look distant penny, crazy. But this is a landscape that has been seriously discussed in technical industry and policy circles in recent months, as tension has increased with Washington, and concerns about the dependence of the European Union on American technology have come to light.

Only three American veterans at the root of these concerns – Google, Microsoft and Amazon – the fact that Provide 70% In Europe’s Cloud-Camputing Infrastructure, scaffolding on which many online services depend.

And some questions whether an unexpected American leader would lay down the situation if the relations are severely deteriorated – for example, by ordering those companies to close their services in Europe.

Digital governance specialist Robin Burzon says, “Important data will be inaccessible, websites will be dark, and essential state services such as hospital IT system will be thrown into chaos.”

They believe that the so -called we should be seriously taken on the “Kill switch”. “It is difficult to say how much trouble we will have.”

Microsoft, Google and Amazon all say that they provide “sovereign” cloud computing solutions that protect the data of the European Union customers, and will prevent such landscape from happening anytime. The BBC has approached the US Treasury Department for comments.

In fact, Europe always has concerns about the lack of “digital sovereignty”, where American firms not only dominate the cloud-committing market, but also have hardware, satellite internet and now artificial intelligence.

Even the main mobile operating systems of the region – Apple and Android – and Payment Network – MasterCard and Visa – are American.

In May, the apprehensions were necessary when it was revealed that Karim Khan, the top prosecutor of the Netherlands, had lost access to his Microsoft Outlook email account after being approved by the White House.

ICC has issued arrest warrants for top Israel officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on his roles in the Israeli -Gaza war – some Mr. Trump said “” said “”Illegal “.

Khan has temporarily stepped on one side by then Sexual misconduct check He has been concluded against him.

Microsoft says that “at any point” it closed or suspended its services, although it was in touch with ICC “The entire process results in disconnection as a result.

Digital sovereignty has since shot the agenda in Brussels, while some public bodies are already looking for an alternative for American providers.

But is it realistic to think that they can overcome themselves with American technology?

Digital sovereignty is loosely defined as the ability of a governing body to control data and technology systems within its limits.

There is a shortage of comparable options facing a problem faced by those chasing it.

Europe has its own provider, such as Ovhcloud of France, or in the T-System or Delos of Germany, Germany, in cloud computing.

Dario Masto, a senior analyst covering digital sovereignty in the global trade consultancy forestter, says, but he is responsible for a fraction of the market, and does not have the same scale or ability.

Similarly, open-sources options are available for general software packages such as offices and windows, but proposers say they are more transparent and accessible, no one is wider or well known.

But sovereign will not “overnight” while going into options, it is a “myth” that it is not possible, it is not possible, says Mr. Masto.

He notes that the German State of Schleswig-Holstein is currently in the process of phasing out in favor of libraffes and Linux like open-source solutions such as offices 365 and Windows. The Ministry of Denmark is operating a uniform scheme for digitization.

“We sometimes overwall the role of ownership software in our outfits,” Sri Masto says, indicating that for major services such as Word Processing and Email, open-sources solutions work fine.

“The main reason organizations do not use open sources, there is a lack of awareness and wrong apprehensions about cyber security,” he said.

“Our prediction is in the next five to 10 years, there will be a quick change [to these solutions] Due to this wake-up call. ,

Boss Benjamin Revolevschi, the boss of Ovaklaud, told the BBC that firms like him are ready to respond to the needs of sovereignty of public and private organizations in Europe.

“Only the European Cloud provider, headquartered in the European Union and with European rule, is able to offer immunity to non-European laws for safety and individual data,” they say.

But Microsoft, Amazon and Google say they already offer solutions that address concerns about digital sovereignty, solutions that collect data on saver in the country or region of customers, not in America.

Google tells the BBC that it partnerships with a trusted local European Union suppliers such as T-systems, controls them over client data encryption, and gives customers “a technical veto on their data”. The German army is one of its customers.

Meanwhile, Microsoft President Brad Smith has promised that the firm will take legal action “Excessively unlikely” The incident ordered the US government to suspend the services, and it would include a section for that impact in the European contracts.

Microsoft spokesperson told the BBC, “We will continue looking for new methods to ensure the European Commission and our European customers have options and assurances that they need to work with confidence.”

Zach Meirs from Brussels-based center on regulation in Europe (Cerre) think tank say that it may be understood to develop its own limited sovereign cloud to protect important government data for Europe.

But he says that “trying to get Americans out of the supply chain, or to ensure that there are Europeans in the supply chain at each point” is unrealistic.

He pointed to Gaia X – a plan launched to make a European -negative option for large, centralized cloud platforms in 2020, in which significant criticism and delay have been faced.

“So much of these [tech] The market winners all take, so once you are the first proposer it is really difficult for someone else to catch. ,

Instead, Mr. Mayors feel that Europe should focus on the areas of technology where it can achieve an edge.

“This may be an industrial use of AI, as Europe already has a much larger, strong industrial basis than the US,” he says. “Or the next generation of chipmaking devices, because one of the few areas where the foot is deposited in Europe, is in photolithography – machines that actually make top -end chips.”

So where does the agenda of digital sovereignty go from here?

Some believe that nothing will change until Europe brings new rules that forces regional organizations and governments to buy local technology. But according to Mr. Burjon, the European Union is pulling its legs.

“There is definitely a political interest, but it is a question of turning it into a shared strategy.”

Mathyas Bauur, director of the European Center for International Political Economy, feels that the target should build Europe’s technology sector so that it can compete with the US and China.

In a report on the competition of the European Union in 2024, former European Central Bank chief Mario Drain said that Europe is “severely behind” in new technologies, and “only four of the top 50 technology companies in the world are four Europeans”.

“This is currently very difficult for a technical company located in the European Union, as it will be for the same company in the US,” says Mr. Bauur.

“You not only face different languages, but also different contract laws, labor market law, tax law, and different field-specific regulation.”

For the principle that President Trump can flip a “Kill switch” and shut down the Internet of Europe, he is extremely doubtful.

“It would be a realistic landscape if we were close to a war, but I don’t see it on the horizon.”

Nevertheless, Mr. Masto says that organizations should take the risk seriously, although remote.

“Two years ago, we did not feel that we would talk about these subjects in these words in 2025. Now we want to be ready for what the organization can be.”