To demonstrate just how quickly the public perception of #DigitalSovereignty has changed, this EU article argues that the problem is misunderstood. It states that "digital dependencies are immense and independence is unreachable", and "it will result in a reduction in cooperation between companies and governments". A Canadian government policy statement made similar arguments in November of 2025.

Article: Why the EU should stop talking about Digital Sovereignty
https://www.cfr.org/articles/why-eu-should-stop-talking-about-digital-sovereignty

Starting in 2019, the EU Commission agreed to put digital policies as one of the cornerstones of EU legislation. By 2024, 3 important pieces of legislation became effective: Data Governance Act, Digital Markets Act, and Digital Services Act. The Digital Fairness Act is expected later this year, regulating influence mechanics, including dark patterns, addictive or exploitative design, and behavioral manipulation.

EU alphabet soup of digital acts: DSA, DMA and DGA
https://edri.org/our-work/eu-alphabet-soup-of-digital-acts-dsa-dma-and-dga/

EU's Digital Services Act is the best known legislation because it protects individuals and it's 2-year anniversary was recently celebrated. Canada has no equivalent for the DSA, DMA,, or DGA, instead relying on a mix of older legislation which is occasionally patched with updates. Note: adoption of EU legislation is sometimes part of trade negotiations with Canada meaning we may be forced to adopt some of these policies.

https://commission.europa.eu/news-and-media/news/two-years-digital-services-act-ensuring-safer-online-spaces-2026-02-17_en

Quick break for some exercise. I will return later this morning with coffee, freshly baked banana bread, and more updates on Europe.

#DigitalSovereignty #DigitalIndependance #FOSS #OpenSource

March 2025, UN announces the Open Source Initiative, which establishes principles that will guide using, developing, and distributing open-source software within the organization, and with partners. By the end of 2025, 60 organizations, companies and governments had announced they would adopt the principles, including:
1st Government: France.
1st Regional Government: German state of Schleswig-Holstein.
1st City: Barcelona.

Zero U.S. governments... strange.

https://digitalrights.asia/events/un-open-source-principles-global-cooperation/?lang_ui=en

The suspension of email service by Microsoft for an official of the International Criminal Court has been cited as one of the factors causing booming interest & investment in #DigitalSovereignty in Europe. It was a wake up call for European governments that U.S. tech firms would follow U.S. influence over EU rights. The ICC announced in late 2025 that they will move away from #Microsoft services.

#USA_TechHegemony
https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/18/microsoft_asks_uk_parliament_to_correct_record/

Remember the German state of Schleswig-Holstein from an earlier post in this thread? In June of 2025 an article reported they stopped using Microsoft Office. That actually started in 2024, when it swapped out Office for free, open-source alternative LibreOffice. Schleswig-Holstein’s open-source initiative began in 2020 as an effort to save licensing costs. “What began as a technical project is now a political project,” said the state’s CIO, Sven Thomsen.

#FOSS
https://www.raconteur.net/technology/schleswig-holstein-open-source

Also in June of 2025, the French city of Lyon announced it would also stop using Microsoft Office for its 10,000 employees, and switch to an ##OpenSource software alternative. City officials pointed to licensing costs, end-of-life transition costs for version changes, and control of their own data, were reasons cited.

https://www.techradar.com/pro/one-of-frances-largest-cities-has-now-also-ditched-microsoft-for-open-source-software