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Digital Sovereignty / Software Freedom Gaining Traction
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Michael Geist ☛ The Global Battle for Data Control: How the 2026 U.S. Report on Trade Barriers Targets Data Sovereignty Worldwide
The speed at which data sovereignty has moved onto the U.S. trade radar is truly remarkable. The 2025 NTE report contained 12 country-level data localization headings and a handful of cloud-specific sections covering China, South Korea, and the EU. There was no mention of Canada in connection with cloud computing or data sovereignty. The term “sovereign cloud” did not appear anywhere in the report.
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[Repeat] OpenRightsGroup ☛ New report: UK needs digital sovereignty strategy to address threats from reliance on big tech
The urgent need for a digital sovereignty strategy, defined as the ability of a country to have control over its digital infrastructure, data, and technology, is supported by the Green Party’s Siân Berry MP, Labour’s Clive Lewis MP and the Lib Dems’ Lord Tim Clement Jones, who have all contributed forewords to the report.
The report finds that Big Tech has used its outsized power and resources to control markets, limit innovation and lobby Government. This not only means a small number of companies have been able to capture the market for the UK’s critical infrastructure but have also been allowed to influence policies that entrench the UK’s dependency. In recent years, the tech lobby has pressed hard to halt AI regulation, limit data protection, and reduce the impact of competition law.
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[Repeat] OpenRightsGroup ☛ The case for Digital Sovereignty and the Digital Commons
Our new report asks a profound question: just how dependent is the UK on US technology, and what could that mean for the UK’s sovereignty? It is an enormous question, but as our report shows, there are real and beneficial answers if the UK shifts from one way dependence on US tech giants to shared technology, based on a Digital Commons, including Open Source, open standards and open hardware.