⁇ Everyone wants it, no one dares to do it
Digital autonomy. Every policy paper, party program and strategic government document talks about it. Ministers call it in interviews. Members of Parliament ask questions about it. The term appears on European agendas as if it were already a policy. But the reality is painfully different: While citizens and small organizations are consciously opting for self-hosted and open source solutions, the public sector continues to relentlessly lean on American tech giants.
That there is attention, this proves LinkedIn post Digital Sovereignty. More than 16,000 people responded positively. It's alive. But the number that actually comes into action remains shamefully small.
“The call for independence is loud, but implementation whispers uncertainty.”
⁇ The numbers don't lie, we do.
The Recently Appeared Digital Sovereignty Index (DSI), prepared by Nextcloud, mercilessly exposes this gap. Finland and Germany lead the rankings with high scores in the use of self-hosted collaboration tools. The Netherlands is remarkably in third place, but here too growth is mainly in the private sphere. The average score within the EU remains deplorably low, especially given the rhetoric.
“We measure progress, but avoid responsibility.”
⁇ Governments as digital colonials
Government institutions continue to massively stick to Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and other closed ecosystems. Why? Comfort. Commerce. Contracts. And above all: Fear of deviating from the norm. Digital sovereignty means daring to make choices that are uncomfortable, politically sensitive and require real vision. So far, it's just words.
“Those who rely on Big Tech are by definition not sovereign.”
⁇ Citizens show that it can be done.
Look at the figures: action is taken by citizens, self-employed workers, small businesses and non-profits. They run their own Nextcloud, use Jitsi for meetings and opt for Odoo instead of Salesforce. Without billions of dollars in subsidies. Without policy notes, simply because they understand that privacy and autonomy cannot be outsourced.
That it can, we know. That it works, we know. But we prefer to run everything on American cloud servers and hope that our legislation magically compensates for that.
“While the government meets, citizens are building digital independence.”
The digital façade must crack
The DSI shows that Europe wants to, but does not. That there is movement under the radar, but no decisiveness in policy. The time of symbolism is over. Open source, self-hosted infrastructure and transparency are no longer activist hobbies. They are the foundation of a resilient society. And we're years behind.
Feel free to refer to these LinkedIn post or read previous analyses my blog for more context and concrete recommendations.
“Digital autonomy is only real if you dare to take back control.”
English (UK)