The EU’s Trump‑Fueled Breakup with Big Tech

France’s rapid shift from Zoom and Microsoft Teams to domestic video‑conferencing platforms signals the start of a broader European disengagement from American tech giants. Driven by security concerns and a push for digital sovereignty, this break reflects a decisive move the EU is formalising. The decision follows national bans on U.S. cloud services, underscoring a consensus that data sovereignty cannot be outsourced. Political autonomy is at stake: by limiting reliance on U.S. firms, EU member states aim to reinforce regulatory autonomy and protect public data from extraterritorial pressures. Economically, this challenges Silicon Valley’s entrenched market share, prompting a scramble for home‑grown solutions that could reshape venture capital across the continent. Moreover, revised procurement rules favour local vendors, a move that could reshape public‑sector digital services. Socially, the transition raises questions about user familiarity, service interoperability, and the balance between privacy guarantees and platform convenience. The EU’s digital strategy, articulated in the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, has already begun to erect barriers against platform monopolies. Yet the current geopolitical climate, marked by Washington’s confrontational stance toward Europe, accelerates the push for sovereign infrastructure, as seen in France’s endorsement of open‑source alternatives and the EU’s funding of European cloud initiatives. If the EU successfully nurtures a competitive European tech ecosystem, it could set a precedent for digital autonomy worldwide, reducing the leverage of transnational corporations. Conversely, a fragmented market may weaken Europe’s technological clout and expose it to supply‑chain vulnerabilities, making the next decade a litmus test for the union’s capacity to translate policy into resilient, home‑grown innovation.