New blogpost:

"Musings on 'digital sovereignty'"

I wanted to jot down some of my thoughts, before I forgot them.

The more I think about it, the less clear the whole thing seems...

https://neilzone.co.uk/2026/03/musings-on-digital-sovereignty/

#DigitalSovereignty #FOSS #SelfHosting

Musings on 'digital sovereignty'

Some initial, probably flawed, thoughts on the notion of digital sovereignty

@neil I think of digital sovereignty in terms of autonomy as opposed to subservience/victimhood/exploitation. So sovereignty need not have a geograhical aspect but one of rights and consent - using those tech resources & providers that are relatively more respectful of one's autonomy regardless of whether they are paid for or not. Viewed from this standpoint it allows choice by the vast majority of users who are not in a position to develop/host their own tech. Sovereignty means using tech, not being used by it.

@annehargreaves @neil Very good. Exploitation & consent may cover much of it in practice but I'd add one factor very explicitly because most have now encountered it

Freedom from potential imposition of unilateral changes in terms and conditions.

I say potential because even harmless but non transparent changes are undesirable.

My Brother laser printer yesterday:

New firmware found: Install Y/N?

Nothing about it online. Consent without disclosure is an oxymoron.

@samueljohnson @neil ha, yes. Respect for consumer!