France Mandates Switch from US Tech Giants to Homegrown Video Conferencing
In a significant move towards digital sovereignty, the French government has announced that its 2.5 million civil servants will cease using video conferencing tools from American providers. By 2027, they must transition to Visio, a domestically developed service, abandoning platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex, and GoTo Meeting.
European-Wide Shift Away from US Digital Dependence
This decision is not isolated to France. Across Europe, governments and institutions are actively reducing their reliance on digital services from US Big Tech companies. They are increasingly turning to domestic or open-source alternatives, driven by growing concerns over data privacy, security, and strategic autonomy.
The Austrian military, for instance, has adopted LibreOffice, an open-source software suite, to replace Microsoft Office for report writing. Similarly, the German state of Schleswig-Holstein has migrated 44,000 employee inboxes from Microsoft to an open-source email program and is considering replacing Windows with Linux.
Political Momentum and Strategic Concerns
The push for "digital sovereignty" has gained substantial political momentum. Analysts note a "real zeitgeist shift" as European nations seek to de-risk from US technology. This sentiment has been amplified by the Trump administration's increasingly belligerent posture towards Europe, including recent tensions over Greenland, which intensified fears that Silicon Valley giants could be compelled to cut off access.
David Amiel, a French civil service minister, emphasised the strategic imperative: "We cannot risk having our scientific exchanges, our sensitive data, and our strategic innovations exposed to non-European actors." The official announcement stated the objective is to "guarantee the security and confidentiality of public electronic communications by relying on a powerful and sovereign tool."
Catalysts for the Sovereignty Movement
Several incidents have fueled this movement. A decisive moment occurred last year when Microsoft, complying with US sanctions, cancelled the International Criminal Court prosecutor's email account. This action, first reported by The Associated Press, sparked widespread fears about a potential "kill switch" that Big Tech companies could wield.
Furthermore, there is a growing perception that repeated EU efforts to regulate tech giants through antitrust fines and digital rulebooks have not significantly curbed their dominance. Concerns also extend to reliance on systems like Elon Musk's Starlink for communications in Ukraine and longstanding disputes over data transfer agreements triggered by Edward Snowden's revelations.
Industry Response and European Alternatives
Microsoft has responded by highlighting its commitment to European customers, stating it focuses on "providing greater choice, stronger data protection, and resilient cloud services — ensuring data stays in Europe, under European law." US cloud providers have also established "sovereign cloud" operations with data centres located in Europe, owned by European entities, and accessible only by EU resident staff.
However, European governments are pressing ahead with alternatives. The French city of Lyon is deploying free office software to replace Microsoft. Denmark's government and major cities like Copenhagen and Aarhus are trialling open-source software. Digital Minister Caroline Stage Olsen of Denmark warned, "We must never make ourselves so dependent on so few that we can no longer act freely."
Economic and Strategic Rationale
The rationale for this shift has evolved. Italo Vignoli, a spokesman for The Document Foundation behind LibreOffice, explained that for early adopters like some Italian cities, the initial appeal was cost savings from avoiding software licenses. Today, the primary driver is avoiding lock-in to proprietary systems. "At first, it was: we will save money and by the way, we will get freedom," Vignoli said. "Today it is: we will be free and by the way, we will also save some money."
This pan-European drive for digital sovereignty represents a fundamental re-evaluation of technological dependencies, prioritising security, data control, and strategic autonomy in an increasingly fragmented digital landscape.
