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.
the idea of replacing current tools with open-source programs would not contribute to economic growth.
Wrong.
creating regulatory barriers would be harmful in a context of rapid technological advancement
Wrong.
Walker suggested that American companies could collaborate with European firms
What does he not understand about digital sovereignty?
According to Google, this change would represent a problem for users
No, for Google. Also, wrong.
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.”
If that’s the price to avoid technofaschism… And, again, wrong.
Tl;dr: stop wanking, Walker.
What happened to: “Google ❤️ open source”
Sacrificed on the profit altar, it would seem.
Fuck you, Google.
Google literally supports a bunch of open source projects. Wtf are they saying?
While im very happy about this just like everyone else, I think it will be a struggle to get rid of the Microslop stuff. A lot of organizations would simply cease to exist if Microslop office and their Windows admin stuff would be gone right now.
Grow a pair and take it up with the shit gibbon in the whitehouse.
Google 😂
I would rather use a tin-can radio than fascist tech. Fuck you, Google. Reap what you sow. You helped American Nazis get in power and you help them stay in power. You deserve to disappear with them when Trump and his vile losers go to jail.
We literally removed “don’t be evil” from our mission statement, but you can totally trust us, bro.
Google
Thanks for confirming we’re on the right track, google.
Oh no!
Anyway…Guys, what you need to do to be competetive, to foster competition… is keep using all our products and services.
Setting up a fund to get new people involved, to get some more money to existing software devs who work on comparable products and servicrs that could be expanded and improved?
No no no, thats uh, that’s anti-competetive, is what that is.
Mhm.
Yep.
They are well aware that US companies placing servers in the EU does nothing for “data sovereignty”, they are bound by the Cloud Act so anything the US government demands takes precedence over the GDPR / EU regulations (which are therefore legally impossible to comply with).
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.
