Why does the (semi) government still opt for digital dependency?
The shock of a vacancy Sometimes you read something that makes you laugh awkwardly. A vacancy at a large hospital, for example, where it is fun to look for a BI developer who helps...
Water Board Vechtstroom learns nothing from Hardenberg
Our local authorities as digital satellite statesThe Water Board Vechtstroom does exactly the same as the municipality of Hardenberg: transfer our local government systems and data to a foreign power. It's like being consciously...
The hostage-taking of our education: Microsoft as an invisible schoolmaster
Anyone who walks around in a classroom today does not immediately see it, but feels it. Everywhere you look, Microsoft is in the works. Windows on...
Europe in digital chains: From naive control to shameless betrayal
Where the hell do I start? There's so much happening at the same time that I don't really know where to start. The European dream of freedom and transparency is about to collapse. While civilians...
How America turns Europe into a horny place with digital thumbscrews
The mask of European pride We like to walk around in Brussels and The Hague with our breasts ahead: “digital sovereignty, autonomy, independence.” Nice words for a conference, but in reality...
Digital Sovereignty is a Lie We'd Like to Keep Believing in
⁇ Everyone wants it, nobody 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....
Big Tech and the new feudalism: we are declared digitally obsolete
⁇ Secret infrastructures, open wounds On August 6, NRC published an article that reads like a dystopian paragraph from 1984: Israel turns out to be systematically listening to Palestinian phone calls and beating...
Dodging Big Tech for 30 euros per month: That's how I built my own cloud empire.
Hills and valleys: I'll take you on my adventure to switch from Big Tech software to more reliable, European or open-source alternatives. I...
Freedom is a lie when only capital is free.
The illusion of freedom It sounds so good: Less government, more freedom. An old neoliberal mantra that is still eagerly repeated on drinks from real estate investors and in the LinkedIn posts...
Your Internet Service Provider Knows You're Watching Porn and Makes Money From It
Your browser does not lie, your DNS betrays you Most people think that the incognito mode in their browser protects them from viewers. But that is a persistent illusion. On the...
Wetransfer, Washington and We: Why Digital Sovereignty Is No Longer a Hobby Project
Sovereignty starts with discomfort I had promised myself (and my wife) not to write business blogs during my vacation. Still, I'm here. In the French sun, with a glass...
Temu, tanks and disloyalty
Quiet for a moment, but not away It was quiet. Too quiet. Not because there was nothing to say, but because I had nothing to give. Personal storms, loss, frustration, mourning,...
Only on Signal: on principles, pain and digital boundaries
Hills and valleys: I'll take you on my adventure to switch from Big Tech software to more reliable, European or open-source alternatives. I...
Building Europe Itself: From Key Figures to Key People
⁇ The urgency of today: Building Digital Sovereignty Thursday, June 5th, my alarm went off at 2:30. After only two hours of sleep, I got up, packed my suitcase, drank a...
Between storm and silence: Why I'm Hopeful Today
A particularly difficult season Sometimes it is as if life is piling up for a while. In recent months, my family and I have been confronted with no less than five personal dramas in...
Stopover to the future
As the train whizzes towards Arnhem, I let my gaze rest on the passing landscape. This journey is more than just a physical journey. It's a...
The Red Button: How the U.S. Banned an International Criminal Court Prosecutor from Accessing His Email
Digital sovereignty is no longer an abstract concept Imagine: You're an internationally respected lawyer, chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC), and suddenly you can't join your...
Digital Sovereignty: A New Course for Municipalities. Are you reading Hardenberg?
The recent news that forty Dutch municipalities are launching their own sovereign cloud environment is an encouraging sign of progress. This initiative, which stems from the Open Web concept, offers municipalities...
Digital sovereignty? Not in Hardenberg, apparently.
While Europe is looking at digital independence and more and more governments are reconsidering their trust in American tech giants, the municipality of Hardenberg is happily opting for a deeper...
It is political: Insights from the Nextcloud Enterprise Day 2025
Sometimes you visit an event that broadens your view of technology, data and society in one fell swoop. Yesterday was such a day. During the Nextcloud Enterprise...
From Latte to Leadership: My Day on the Nextcloud Enterprise Day in The Hague
Morning Silence and Outlook It's early. The city still breathes slowly awake while I drink my first latte of the day at Douwe Egberts in New Babylon. Outside is shimmering...
Hello Windows, hello freedom: Why I Switched to Linux
Hills and valleys: my Journey away from Big Tech I take you on my adventure to switch from Big Tech software to more reliable, European or open-source alternatives...
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