Europe pushes for digital independence amid growing backlash against US tech firms

As political tensions rise between Europe and the United States under Donald Trump’s second presidency, more and more Europeans are seeking to reduce their dependence on American tech giants. From grassroots efforts to government policy shifts, momentum is building toward what leaders and citizens alike call “digital sovereignty”.

At a modest market stall in Berlin, run by the charity Topio, volunteers are helping locals purge their smartphones of US-linked software. “Before, it was just privacy geeks. Now, it’s politically aware people who feel exposed,” Topio founder Michael Wirths toldReuters while helping a customer install a Google-free version of Android.

The change in sentiment reflects a wider European re-evaluation of reliance on American tech in everything from cloud storage and search engines to messaging apps and social media platforms.

Donald Trump’s return to office and his administration’s open criticism of European allies have rattled confidence across the continent. Trump’s retreat from Europe’s security commitments, a newly launched trade war, and incendiary comments by Vice President JD Vance accusing EU governments of censorship have only deepened concerns.

A growing cohort of users is now turning to European providers. Berlin-based Ecosia, a green search engine, has seen EU traffic rise 27 per cent year-on-year, while Swiss-based ProtonMail reported an 11.7 per cent jump in use across Europe. Messaging app Signal also recorded a 7 per cent monthly increase in March.

Digital sovereignty gains ground

The term “digital sovereignty” has become central to European tech discourse, encompassing both personal data protection and national security. At the Berlin Summit 2025, experts and policymakers called for coordinated investments in indigenous digital infrastructure to “avoid path dependencies” on US and Chinese platforms.

“We are witnessing a blurring of the boundaries between economic and political control,” Maria Farrell, a UK-based internet regulation expert, toldReuters. “People who never questioned it before, like my hairdresser, are now asking which email provider they should switch to.”

Regional and national governments are acting. Germany’s federal coalition has committed to expanding open-source software and homegrown cloud solutions. In Schleswig-Holstein, public sector IT is now required to run exclusively on open-source platforms.

Berlin even funded Ukraine’s internet access via French firm Eutelsat instead of Elon Musk’s Starlink, a subtle but symbolic pivot away from American platforms.

Big tech still dominates, for now

Despite the shift in sentiment, US tech giants retain overwhelming market dominance. Google attracted 10.3 billion visits from EU countries in February, compared to Ecosia’s 122 million, and Alphabet earned roughly $100 billion from the Europe, West Asia, and Africa region in 2024 alone.

Even providers promoting independence rely on the very infrastructure they seek to avoid. Ecosia and France’s Qwant both rely partly on Microsoft’s Bing or Google’s search results. Cloud services remain heavily dependent on US-owned data centres and networking infrastructure.

Digital rights groups warn that total separation for now is unrealistic, because currently, from push notifications to content delivery networks, US infrastructure is deeply embedded.

Regulation, not just resistance, is key

While some users seek individual digital alternatives, experts argue real change will require political will and regulatory action. They suggest that the region needs regulation to restore competition and reduce dependence.

US companies are responding. Microsoft has announced new products, such as the Microsoft Sovereign Cloud and External Key Management, aimed at supporting European digital independence.

“We’ve operated in Europe for over 40 years,” CEO Satya Nadella said in a recent post. “We are committed to unlocking sovereign ways for Europe to run its own digital infrastructure.”

Whether these efforts are viewed as solutions or strategic placation, one thing is clear: Europe’s call for sovereignty is no longer limited to policymakers but is resonating across society.