At an AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, Stuart Russell, a computer science professor at the University of California, Berkeley and a prominent AI safety advocate, said the ongoing AI arms race between big tech companies carries ‘existential risk’ that could ultimately threaten humanity if super-intelligent AI systems overpower human control.
He argued that while CEOs of leading AI developers, whom he believes privately recognise the dangers, are reluctant to slow development unilaterally due to investor pressure, governments could work together to impose collective regulation and safety standards.
Russell characterised the current trajectory as akin to ‘Russian roulette’ with humanity’s future and urged political action to address both safety and ethical concerns around AI advancement.
He also highlighted other societal issues tied to rapid AI deployment, including potential job losses, surveillance concerns and misuse. He pointed to growing public unease, especially among younger people, about AI’s dehumanising aspects.
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The European Commission has proposed changes to the GDPR and the EU AI Act as part of its Digital Omnibus Package, seeking to clarify how personal data may be processed for AI development and operation across the EU.
A new provision would recognise AI development and operation as a potential legitimate interest under the GDPR, subject to necessity and a balancing test. Controllers in the EU would still need to demonstrate safeguards, including data minimisation, transparency and an unconditional right to object.
The package also introduces a proposed legal ground for processing sensitive data in AI systems where removal is not feasible without disproportionate effort. Claims that strict conditions would apply, requiring technical protections and documentation throughout the lifecycle of AI models in the EU.
Further amendments would permit biometric data processing for identity verification under defined conditions and expand the rules allowing sensitive data to be used for bias detection beyond high-risk AI systems.
Overall, the proposals aim to provide greater legal certainty without overturning existing data protection principles. The EU lawmakers and supervisory authorities continue to debate the proposals before any final adoption.
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Environmental groups, including Beyond Fossil Fuels and Stand.earth, have published a report challenging claims that AI will meaningfully address climate change. The analysis argues that rapid data centre expansion is being justified by overstated promises of ‘AI for climate’ benefits.
Researchers found that many cited emissions reductions relate to older forms of machine learning rather than energy-intensive generative AI systems. At the same time, rising electricity demand from large-scale AI deployment is driving increased fossil fuel use.
The report also questions evidence presented by corporations and institutions such as the International Energy Agency, stating that projected climate gains are often weak or exaggerated. Companies are reported to be drifting away from climate targets even when renewable energy offsets are included.
Campaigners say framing AI as a climate solution risks distracting from corporate decisions that increase pollution and digital infrastructure growth. They call for stronger accountability and clearer scrutiny of environmental claims linked to emerging technologies.
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Fraudsters are using a fake AI chatbot posing as Google’s Gemini to promote a bogus ‘Google Coin’ cryptocurrency presale. The automated assistant delivers convincing investment projections and directs victims to send irreversible crypto payments.
The scam site copies Google branding and claims the token will surge in value after launch, despite Google having no cryptocurrency project. Visitors are shown fabricated presale stages, countdowns and token sales figures to create urgency.
When questioned about regulatory or company details, the chatbot avoids providing verifiable information and instead repeats scripted claims about security and transparency. Tougher queries are redirected to a supposed ‘manager’, suggesting human operators step in to close larger payments.
Researchers warn that AI tools are making crypto scams more scalable and more challenging to detect. Consumers are urged to verify claims on official websites and to avoid sending digital assets in exchange for promised returns.
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Derived from the Latin word ‘superanus’, through the French word ‘souveraineté’, sovereignty can be understood as: ‘the ultimate overseer, or authority, in the decision-making process of the state and in the maintenance of order’ – Britannica. Digital sovereignty, specifically European digital sovereignty, refers to ‘Europe’s ability to act independently in the digital world’.
In 2020, the European Parliament already identified the consequences of reliance on non-EU technologies. From the economic and social influence of non-EU technology companies, which can undermine user control over their personal data, to the slow growth of the EU technology companies and a limitation on the enforcement of European laws.
Today, these concerns persist. From Romanian election interference on TikTok’s platform, Microsoft’s interference with the ICC, to the Dutch government authentication platform being acquired by a US firm, and booming American and Chinese LLMs compared to European LLMs. The EU is at a crossroads between international reliance and homegrown adoption.
The issue of the EU digital sovereignty has gained momentum in the context of recent and significant shifts in US foreign policy toward its allies. In this environment, the pursuit of the EU digital sovereignty appears as a justified and proportionate response, one that might previously have been perceived as unnecessarily confrontational.
In light of this, this analysis’s main points will discuss the rationale behind the EU digital sovereignty (including dependency, innovation and effective compliance), recent European-centric technological and platform shifts, the steps the EU is taking to successfully be digitally sovereign and finally, examples of European alternatives
Rationale behind the move
The reasons for digital sovereignty can be summed up in three main areas: (I) less dependency on non-EU tech, (ii) leading and innovating technological solutions, and (iii) ensuring better enforcement and subsequent adherence to data protection laws/fundamental rights.
(i) Less dependency: Global geopolitical tensions between US-China/Russia push Europe towards developing its own digital capabilities and secure its supply chains. Insecure supply chain makes Europe vulnerable to failing energy grids.
More recently, US giant Microsoft threatened the International legal order by revoking US-sanctioned International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s Microsoft software access, preventing the Chief Prosecutor from working on his duties at the ICC. In light of these scenarios, Europeans are turning to developing more European-based solutions to reduce upstream dependencies.
(ii) Leaders & innovators: A common argument is that Americans innovate, the Chinese copy, and the Europeans regulate. If the EU aims to be a digital geopolitical player, it must position itself to be a regulator which promotes innovation. It can achieve this by upskilling its workforce of non-digital trades into digital ones to transform its workforce, have more EU digital infrastructure (data centres, cloud storage and management software), further increase innovation spending and create laws that truly allow for the uptake of EU technological development instead of relying on alternative, cheaper non-EU options.
(iii) Effective compliance: Knowing that fines are more difficult to enforce towards non-EU companies than the EU companies (ex., Clearview AI), EU-based technological organisations would allow for corrective measures, warnings, and fines to be enforced more effectively. Thus, enabling more adherence towards the EU’s digital agenda and respect for fundamental rights.
Can the EU achieve Digital Sovereignty?
The main speed bumps towards the EU digital sovereignty are: i) a lack of digital infrastructure (cloud storage & data centres), ii) (critical) raw material dependency and iii) Legislative initiatives to facilitate the path towards digital sovereignty (innovation procurement and fragmented compliance regime).
i) lack of digital infrastructure: In order for the EU to become digitally sovereign it must have its own sovereign digital infrastructure.
In practice, the EU relies heavily on American data centre providers (i.e. Equinix, Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services) hosted in the EU. In this case, even though the data is European and hosted in the EU, the company that hosts it is non-European. This poses reliance and legislative challenges, such as ensuring adequate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data when it is in transit to the US. Given the EU-US DPF, there is a legal basis for transferring EU personal data to the US.
However, if the DPF were to be struck down (perhaps due to the US’ Cloud Act), as it has been in the past (twice with Schrems I and Schrems II) and potentially Schrems III, there would no longer be a legal basis for the transfer of the EU personal data to a US data centre.
Previously, the EU’s 2022 Directive on critical entities resilience allowed for the EU countries to identify critical infrastructure and subsequently ensure they take the technical, security and organisational measures to assure their resilience. Part of this Directive covers digital infrastructure, including providers of cloud computing services and providers of data centres. From this, the EU has recently developed guidelines for member states to identify critical entities. However, these guidelines do not anticipate how to achieve resilience and leave this responsibility with member states.
ii) Raw material dependency: The EU cannot be digitally sovereign until it reduces some of its dependencies on other countries’ raw materials to build the hardware necessary to be technologically sovereign. In 2025, the EU’s goals were to create a new roadmap towards critical raw material (CRM) sovereignty to rely on its own energy sources and build infrastructure.
Thus, the RESourceEU Action Plan was born in December 2025. This plan contains 6 pillars: securing supply through knowledge, accelerating and promoting projects, using the circular economy and fostering innovation (recycling products which contain CRMs), increasing European demand for European projects (stockpiling CRMs), protecting the single market and partnering with third countries for long-lasting diversification. Practically speaking, part of this plan is to match Europe and or global raw material supply with European demand for European projects.
iii) Legislative initiatives to facilitate the path towards digital sovereignty:
Tackling difficult innovation procurement: the argument is to facilitate its uptake of innovation procurement across the EU. In 2026, the EU is set to reform its public procurement framework for innovation. The Innovation Procurement Update (IPU) team has representatives from over 33 countries (predominantly through law firms, Bird & Bird being the most represented), which recommends that innovation procurement reach 20% of all public procurement.
Another recommendation would help more costly innovative solutions to be awarded procurement projects, which in the past were awarded to cheaper procurement bids. In practice, the lowest price of a public procurement bid is preferred, and if it meets the remaining procurement conditions, it wins the bid – but de-prioritising this non-pricing criterion would enable companies with more costly innovative solutions to win public procurement bids.
Alleviating compliance challenges: lowering other compliance burdens whilst maintaining the digital aquis: recently announced at the World Economic Forum by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU.inc would help cross-border business operations scaling up by alleviating company, corporate, insolvency, labour and taxation law compliance burdens. By harmonising these into a single framework, businesses can more easily grow and deploy cross-border solutions that would otherwise face hurdles.
Power through data: another legislative measure to help facilitate the path towards the EU digital sovereignty is unlocking the potential behind European data. In order to research innovative solutions, data is required. This can be achieved through personal or non-personal data. The EU’s GDPR regulates personal data and is currently undergoing amendments. If the proposed changes to the GDPR are approved, i.e. a broadening of its scope, data that used to be considered personal (and thus required GDPR compliance) could be deemed non-personal and used more freely for research purposes. The Data Act regulate the reuse and re-sharing of non-personal data. It aims to simplify and bolster the fair reuse of non-personal data. Overall, both personal and non-personal data can give important insight that research can benefit from in developing European innovative sovereign solutions.
European alternatives
European companies have already built a network of European platforms, services and apps with European values at heart:
Category
Currently Used
EU Alternative
Comments
Social media
TikTok, X, Instagram
Monnet (Luxembourg)
‘W’ (Sweden)
Monnet is a social media app prioritises connections and non-addictive scrolling. Recently announced ‘W’ replaces ‘X’ and is gaining major traction with non-advertising models at its heart.
Email
Microsoft’s Outlook and Google’s gmail
Tuta (mail/calendar), Proton (Germany), Mailbox (Germany), Mailfence (Belgium)
Replace email and calendar apps with a privacy focused business model.
Search engine
Google Search and DuckDuckGo
Qwant (France) and Ecosia (German)
Qwant has focused on privacy since its launch in 2013. Ecosia is an ecofriendly focused business model which helps plant trees when users search
Video conferencing
Microsoft Teams and Slack a
Visio (France), Wire (Switzerland, Mattermost (US but self hosted), Stackfield (Germany), Nextcloud Talk (Germany) and Threema (Switzerland)
These alternatives are end-to-end encrypted. Visio is used by the French Government
Writing tools
Microsoft’s Word & Excel and Google Sheets, Notion
Most of these options provide cloud storage and NexCloud is a recurring alternative across categories.
Finance
Visa and Mastercard
Wero (EU)
Not only will it provide an EU wide digital wallet option, but it will replace existing national options – providing for fast adoption.
LLM
OpenAI, Gemini, DeepSeek’s LLM
Mistral AI (France) and DeepL (Germany)
DeepL is already wildly used and Mistral is more transparent with its partially open-source model and ease of reuse for developers
Hardware
Semi conductors: ASML (Dutch) Data Center: GAIA-X (Belgium)
ASML is a chip powerhouse for the EU and GAIA-X set an example of EU based data centres with it open-source federated data infrastructure.
A dedicated website called ‘European Alternatives’ provides exactly what it says, European Alternatives. A list with over 50 categories and 100 alternatives
Conclusion
In recent years, the Union’s policy goals have shifted towards overt digital sovereignty solutions through diversification of materials and increased innovation spending, combined with a restructuring of the legislative framework to create the necessary path towards European digital infrastructure.
Whilst this analysis does not include all speed bumps, nor avenues towards the road of the EU digital sovereignty, it sheds light on the EU’s most recent major policy developments. Key questions remain regarding data reuse, its impact on data protection fundamental rights and whether this reshaping of the framework will yield the intended results.
Therefore, how will the EU tread whilst it becomes a more coherent sovereign geopolitical player?
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Germany’s coalition government is weighing new restrictions on children’s access to social media as both governing parties draft proposals to tighten online safeguards. The debate comes amid broader economic pressures, with industry reporting significant job losses last year.
The conservative bloc and the centre-left Social Democrats are examining measures that could curb or block social media access for minors. Proposals under discussion include age-based restrictions and stronger platform accountability.
The Social Democrats in Germany have proposed banning access for children under 14 and introducing dedicated youth versions of platforms for users aged 14 to 16. Supporters argue that clearer age thresholds could reduce exposure to harmful content and addictive design features.
The discussions align with a growing European trend toward stricter digital child protection rules. Several governments are exploring tougher age verification and content moderation standards, reflecting mounting concerns over online safety and mental health.
The policy debate unfolded as German industry reported cutting 124,100 jobs in 2025 amid ongoing economic headwinds. Lawmakers face the dual challenge of safeguarding younger users while navigating wider structural pressures affecting Europe’s largest economy.
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The UK government has announced new measures to protect children online, giving parents clearer guidance and support. PM Keir Starmer said no platform will get a free pass, with illegal AI chatbot content targeted immediately.
New powers, to be introduced through upcoming legislation, will allow swift action following a consultation on children’s digital well-being.
Proposed measures include enforcing social media age limits, restricting harmful features like infinite scrolling, and strengthening safeguards against sharing non-consensual intimate images.
Ministers are already consulting parents, children, and civil society groups. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology launched ‘You Won’t Know until You Ask’ to advise on safety settings, talking to children, and handling harmful content.
Charities such as NSPCC and the Molly Rose Foundation welcomed the announcement, emphasising swift action on age limits, addictive design, and AI content regulation. Children’s feedback will help shape the new rules, aiming to make the UK a global leader in online safety.
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Dutch lawmakers have approved a new tax law that will impose a 36% levy on actual investment returns, including both realised and unrealised gains from cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The law, called the Actual Return in Box 3 Act, takes effect on 1 January 2028 and applies annually, meaning investors will owe tax even if assets are not sold.
Real estate and startup shares are exempt from mark-to-market taxation, raising concern among crypto investors. Critics say taxing paper gains may force investors to sell assets or consider moving to more favourable jurisdictions.
The government defended the measure as essential to prevent significant revenue losses.
The legislation includes some relief measures, such as a tax-free annual return for small savers and unlimited loss carry-forward above certain thresholds, allowing investors to offset downturns against future gains.
Despite these provisions, many crypto advocates argue that taxing unrealised gains remains problematic.
Crypto adoption in the Netherlands is growing rapidly. Indirect holdings by Dutch companies, institutions, and households reached $1.42 billion by October 2025, up from $96 million in 2020.
Officials say the long-term goal is to move towards a realised gains model, but annual taxation of paper gains is currently seen as necessary to safeguard public finances.
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The European Parliament has disabled AI features on the tablets it provides to lawmakers, citing cybersecurity and data protection concerns. Built-in AI tools like writing and virtual assistants have been disabled, while third-party apps remain mostly unaffected.
The decision follows an assessment highlighting that some AI features send data to cloud services rather than processing it locally.
Lawmakers have been advised to take similar precautions on their personal devices. Guidance includes reviewing AI settings, disabling unnecessary features, and limiting app permissions to reduce exposure of work emails and documents.
Officials stressed that these measures are intended to prevent sensitive data from being inadvertently shared with service providers.
The move comes amid broader European scrutiny of reliance on overseas digital platforms, particularly US-based services. Concerns over data sovereignty and laws like the US Cloud Act have amplified fears that personal and sensitive information could be accessed by foreign authorities.
AI tools, which require extensive access to user data, have become a key focus in ongoing debates over digital security in the EU.
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Ericsson and Microsoft have integrated advanced 5G into Windows 11 to simplify secure enterprise laptop connectivity. The update embeds AI-driven 5G management, enabling IT teams to automate connections and enforce policy-based controls at scale.
The solution combines Microsoft Intune with Ericsson Enterprise 5G Connect, a cloud-based platform that monitors network quality and optimises performance. Enterprises can switch service providers and automatically apply internal connectivity policies.
IT departments can remotely provision eSIMs, prioritise 5G networks, and enforce secure profiles across laptop fleets. Automation reduces manual configuration and ensures consistent compliance across locations and service providers.
The companies say the integration addresses long-standing barriers to adopting cellular-connected PCs, including complexity and fragmented management. Multi-market pilots have preceded commercial availability in the United States, Sweden, Singapore, and Japan.
Additional launches are planned in 2026 across Spain, Germany, and Finland. Executives from both firms describe the collaboration as a step toward AI-ready enterprise devices with secure, always-on connectivity.
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