Europe’s Heavy Dependence on US Technology: A Prime Opportunity to Develop Our Own | Johnny Ryan

The situation experienced by
French judge Nicolas Guillou and his
international colleagues underlines the stark reality of Europe’s reliance on US technology. Facing US sanctions, they are stripped of the ability to engage in e-commerce, reserve accommodations, or rent vehicles through conventional online platforms. Their smart home devices become unresponsive, and credit cards issued by European banks are rendered useless due to the lack of a cohesive EU-wide payment system. This reliance on major US companies, such as Visa and Mastercard, complicates even the simplest of transactions, entrenching Europe further under the influence of American technology. The challenge is made more insidious by the fact that living in Europe does not shield one from the disruptive effects of US policies that can dismantle digital accessibility at a moment’s notice.

This technological dependence extends far beyond consumer electronics. Last year, the chairman of the Danish parliament’s defense committee publicly expressed regret over Denmark’s decision to procure US-made F-35 fighter jets. He ominously speculated about a future in which the USA could leverage control over these assets to manipulate Denmark’s foreign policy, particularly concerning Greenland. This anxiety over security has been echoed by Spain, which has abandoned its own plans to acquire F-35s due to similar concerns.

The signs of looming peril should have been evident years ago when it was revealed that US intelligence routinely intercepted phone communications among millions of Europeans, including senior European leaders. Yet, despite such revelations, faith in US technology persisted across various sectors—from governments and military organizations to businesses and educational institutions. Key documents are drafted in Microsoft Word, medical records are stored on Amazon servers, and crucial meetings are conducted using platforms like Microsoft Teams or Zoom. Young people, in particular, engage with the global landscape through “filtered” perspectives offered by Snapchat and YouTube, while European media heavily depend on Google for advertisement revenues.

Nevertheless, Europe possesses a viable route toward digital autonomy. The path to reducing the US technological stronghold over word processing, teleconferencing, and enterprise software isn’t insurmountable. As noted by tech investor Roger McNamee, much of the foundational technology in these domains was developed in the late 1990s and early 2000s, subsequently deteriorating due to monopoly influences. Faced with growing fears about the ease with which competitors can emerge from burgeoning coding technologies, investors are fleeing traditional software stocks in favor of innovative alternatives. Europe could seize this moment to build superior solutions.

Progressive steps have already been taken. Austria’s military has opted to transition to open-source alternatives, abandoning Microsoft for services hosted within Europe. Moreover, several regional governments in Germany are following suit. An edict from Denmark’s data protection authority in 2024 mandates that educational institutions cease using Google Chromebooks. The newly formed Dutch government has committed to prioritizing digital sovereignty, while France has migrated its public workforce of 5.7 million to a homegrown video communication platform—Visio—fostering reliance on national infrastructure. In a significant step toward interconnectivity, the European Commission is developing a system based on Matrix, a European open-source technology designed to facilitate communication across various apps and servers without yielding control to a single provider .

However, Europe’s tech struggles are entrenched in deeper issues. One significant hurdle is the disparate business practices and legal frameworks unique to each of the 27 EU member states. Even though the European market contains a vast consumer base of 450 million, startups often fail to scale due to the challenges posed by operational limits across borders. The IMF estimates that bureaucratic friction within the EU mirrors a staggering 110% tariff on cross-border trade, which significantly stifles innovation in consumer technology and cloud infrastructure.

Despite recognizing this challenge decades ago, EU nations have hesitated to unify their approaches, often siding with entrenched domestic lobbies that favor maintaining the status quo. This reluctance might finally shift with the recent agreement among EU leaders to establish a single market, emphasizing a collective focus on “buying European” in crucial sectors such as defense, space, clean technology, and artificial intelligence.

Another pressing issue is the disparity in investment opportunities available to European startups compared to their US counterparts. In Europe, capital markets are fragmented and uncoordinated, generally stifling initial public offerings and robust funding channels for innovation. Efforts are underway to create a cohesive union-wide financing system which could potentially free up €10 trillion in savings for investment purposes.

The final layer of complexity is the political resolve of European governments to assertively defend the continent’s interests. During the recent Greenland standoff, did EU leaders adopt a firm stance against US demands? It may well have been internal US economic concerns that prompted President Trump to recede, rather than a decisive European front.

Polling results after this crisis indicate that a majority of western Europeans (including UK citizens) are averse to increasing US influence; they demand a stronger Europe. Citizens desire an EU equipped with greater powers and decision-making authority.

Leaders like Friedrich Merz and Giorgia Meloni advocate for transforming the economy through regulatory reductions and loosening EU standards. However, instead of compromising its stringent data legislation, Europe should rigorously enforce these regulations to dismantle the stranglehold that Google, Microsoft, and Amazon maintain over its market.

While the US tech sector currently appears to be an invaluable resource, it poses inherent risks due to its overwhelming influence over the US economy—especially given that Trump’s base does not uniformly support the technology sector. Europe has the potential to exploit this vulnerability, undermining support for Trump in the process.

Yet, presently, Europe delegates critical aspects of its democracy, economy, and defense to American tech firms, thus inadvertently empowering Trump’s administration with a potentially devastating lever of control over European systems.

As Europe steers towards a daunting crossroads, it must resolutely reject complacency. Before US demands have a chance to erode further democratic foundations, European leaders should collectively commit to standing firm—ready to innovate, adapt, and thrive independently.