Google has criticized the European Union’s intentions to achieve digital sovereignty through open-source software. The company warned that Brussels’ policies aimed at reducing dependence on American tech companies could harm competitiveness. According to Google, the idea of replacing current tools with open-source programs would not contribute to economic growth.
Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs and chief legal officer, warned of a competitive paradox that Europe is facing. According to the Financial Times, he said that creating regulatory barriers would be harmful in a context of rapid technological advancement. His remarks came just days after the European Commission concluded a public consultation assessing the transition to open-source software.
Google’s chief legal officer clarified that he is not opposed to digital sovereignty, but recommended making use of the “best technologies in the world.” Walker suggested that American companies could collaborate with European firms to implement measures ensuring data protection. Local management or servers located in Europe to store information are among the options.
The EU is preparing a technological sovereignty package aimed at eliminating dependence on third-party software, such as Google’s. After reviewing proposals, it concluded that reliance on external suppliers for critical infrastructure entails economic risks and creates vulnerabilities. The strategy focuses not only on regulation but also on adopting open-source software to achieve digital sovereignty.
According to Google, this change would represent a problem for users. Walker argues that the market moves faster than legislation and warns that regulatory friction will only leave European consumers and businesses behind in what he calls “the most competitive technological transition we have ever seen.” As it did with the DMA and other laws, Google is playing on fear. Kent Walker suggested that this initiative would stifle innovation and deny people access to the “best digital tools.”
The promotion of open-source software aims to break dependence on foreign suppliers, especially during a period of instability caused by the Trump administration. The European Union has highlighted the risks of continuing under this system and proposes that public institutions should have full control over their own technology.
According to a study on the impact of open-source software, the European Commission found that it contributes between €65 billion and €95 billion annually to the European Union’s GDP. The executive body estimates that a 10% increase in contributions to open-source software would generate an additional €100 billion in growth for the bloc’s economy.
All these craptastic US tech companies originally started on internationally developed free and open source software. They hoover up capital and talent then abuse their market power. Fuck them all.
They all run on Linux - Torvalds is a Swedish speaking Finn. Greg KH who maintains stable is German. So many libraries and core system contributions by Germans like Drepper and Poettering. Youtube ran on mysql for years from Finnish Widenius. Google built a lot of stuff with Python - from Dutch Guido van Rossum and c++ from Danish Stroustrup. All of the video and audio sites rely heavily on ffmpeg, orginally from French Fabrice Bellard. Lots of them also using virtualisation stuff which includes qemu, also from Bellard. So much comp sci research from Europe and UK. Chrome and Safari originated with KDE (German) code. Europe did all the heavy lifting while the US took all the profits. I’m not even European but every country has the same experience. They have no idea how they are viewed.
Thanks for confirming we’re on the right track, google.
If nobody in Europe paid for Google products think of the economic benefit to Europe if all that saved cash was then spent by the people on European products and services.
The last one I am actively paying for is YouTube premium. I don’t think there is a good alternative yet…
Either the alternative has critical features missing
Or they are not loud enough to have people crosspost to it
European landlords getting ready to hoover up that spare money. 🤑
I feel you’re trying to oppose the decision and your arguments against it are all valid for the current system 😂.
What landlords are you talking about?
Google and their big tech buddies made their choice by supporting Trump’s regime. I know actions have consequences is a concept that doesn’t apply in the US, but elsewhere it does. Deal with it.
Shit’s straight out of the onion. The jokes write themselves
Also EU govts might get crippled by losing out on all that tax revenue. /s
Who ever wrote that headline was a sucker
Google really really cares about us Europeans! …
Anyway, bye Google…
How can anyone choosing something else than your product hurt competitiveness? Suck it Google and go back to “overseas” reich.
Wait, nobody in their marketing or pr departments told them this would make them look like massive whinebabies?
So it must be good thing then?
Walker suggested that American companies could collaborate with European firms to implement measures ensuring data protection
No, this is fundamentally impossible. The US has the Cloud Act. As long as that exists, this is a nonstarter.
The US can change their laws to not have a global wiretap and secret backdoor warrant program, then this would be possible.
could stifle innovation
What is there to innovate? It’s just email and cloud storage. It’s not like these governments use Google’s latest AI tools. Google hasn’t done shit to innovate Gmail and Google Drive in the last 15 years. And Google’s Trojan horse called Chrome has actually stifled the internet. Google now has way too much power over browser standards and thus how the web should work.
Christ , they’re just outright pretending the US isn’t a batshit rogue state that needs to be decoupled
Is Google literally crying cause they won’t get people data and money? Looks like begging.
