EUROPE’S DIGITAL PANIC: Allies Turn on U.S. Tech While Benefiting From American Power

Across Europe, governments are making a loud political show of “digital sovereignty,” ditching trusted U.S. technology while continuing to rely on American military strength, intelligence sharing, and economic leadership.

France has announced plans for civil servants to abandon Zoom and Microsoft Teams in favor of a state-backed video platform. In Austria, the military has replaced Microsoft Office with open-source software for internal reports.

In Germany, bureaucrats in Schleswig-Holstein are moving administrative work away from paid American software toward free alternatives. The shift is being sold as independence, but critics see it as insecurity dressed up as strategy.

European officials claim they fear overreliance on U.S. Big Tech, warning that American companies could be pressured by Washington during diplomatic disputes. That anxiety has grown amid tougher U.S. rhetoric toward Europe and renewed disagreements over Greenland. Instead of addressing their own technological stagnation, European governments are choosing to scapegoat Silicon Valley — the very engine of Western innovation.

The irony is glaring. For decades, Europe benefited from U.S. technological dominance, defense spending, and market access while underinvesting in its own capabilities. Now, rather than competing head-to-head with American firms, European bureaucracies are retreating into state-built tools and open-source systems that lag far behind in scale, security, and innovation.

The privacy argument rings hollow. U.S. technology companies operate under some of the world’s strictest compliance frameworks and power the most secure systems on Earth — including those used by the U.S. government and military. Europe’s sudden concern about “foreign control” looks less like principle and more like political theater aimed at masking years of dependency and regulatory failure.

Proponents claim open-source software will cut costs and boost autonomy. But critics warn that compatibility issues, productivity losses, and hidden transition expenses will hit taxpayers hard. Replacing world-class platforms with bureaucratic substitutes may satisfy ideological instincts, but it won’t close Europe’s widening tech gap with the United States or China.

U.S. tech leadership remains unmatched, and Europe’s retreat only proves it. Instead of attacking American companies, Europe should be asking why it failed to build global champions of its own. The United States leads because it innovates, competes, and wins — not because it hides behind state software and fear-driven policies.

Europe’s digital turn isn’t a declaration of independence. It’s an admission of weakness.