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Tech Giants and Giant Slayers: The case for Digital Sovereignty and the Digital Commons Executive Summary Reclaiming Digital Sovereignty The high cost of digital dependency In Part I The Digital Sovereignty challenge we find: The UK’s current position Part II Current UK policy position…

Public money should be spent on public code that benefits us all.

Our report shows the benefits of shifting from a one way dependence on US tech giants to shared technology.

We need a Digital Sovereignty strategy based on Open Source systems, open standards and open hardware.

Read the report ⬇️

Digital sovereignty isn't just a buzzword – it's the future Opinion: Linux Foundation Europe boss predicts EU will run as fast as it can from US tech companies

More and more governments are waking up to the need for Digital Sovereignty.

Being on the hook to US tech companies is a critical weakness in the UK's digital infrastructure. We get locked-in and dependent on products that can be used as political leverage.

We must urgently follow the EU's lead.

UK told its Big Tech habit is now a national security risk : Open Rights Group says years of reliance on US giants have left Britain exposed

The UK's love affair with Big Tech is toxic.

A small number of companies have captured the market for the UK’s critical infrastructure from the NHS to defence.

From this position, they’ve influenced policies that entrench the UK’s dependency.

It's time to course correct with Digital Sovereignty.

Risky Business: Open Rights Group Slams UK "Overreliance" on US Big Tech The UK's longstanding reliance on US big tech is putting it at risk in terms of economics and security, a new report warns.

"An urgent national security issue”

Locking ourselves into exclusive products of US tech companies exposes us to foreign interference in our digital infrastructure.

Sanctions, service withdrawal and espionage are all built-in features.

We need Digital Sovereignty with open source.

Read more ⬇️

New report: UK needs digital sovereignty strategy to address threats from reliance on big tech The UK’s over-reliance on a small number of tech giants for its digital infrastructure is a matter of national security that must be urgently addressed, warns a new report by Open Rights Group.

We need UK Digital Sovereignty to reduce our dependence on proprietary vendors and restore public sector control.

With greater investment in Open Source technologies, we can balance innovation with resilience, economic opportunity with democratic accountability.

FInd out more in our report ⬇️

Quote: "This paper provides both the rigorous analysis and practical roadmap we urgently need. It exposes the true costs of our current dependencies and charts a course toward responsible sovereignty." from Lord Tim Clement Jones, Liberal Democrats. Background: Abstract series of shapes and checkboard patterns in different colours.

"Every procurement decision that embeds foreign dependency, every compromise of sovereignty in the name of convenience, accumulates into strategic vulnerability."

Lord Tim Clement Jones has supported our report setting out a roadmap for the government to implement a Digital Sovereignty strategy.

ORG Brighton Meet-up Join us in Brighton to get the latest on our campaigns on the Migrant Digital Rights Programme.

Coming up on Monday, join us in Brighton for our meet-up!

We'll be talking about how AI is being used in the asylum system. Following our revelation that its use could be unlawful, find out what YOU can do about it.

🗓️ Monday 20 April
🕡️ 6:30-10:00pm
📍 Community Base, BN1 3XG

Register now ⬇️

Stop the "Kill Switch": Demand the UK takes back control of our technology. From the NHS to our energy grid, we are too reliant on US tech. Help us demand digital independence.

A handful of Big Tech companies have used their power to gain control of the UK’s digital infrastructure.

As Clive Lewis MP says, this has resulted in "government contracts being handed out to companies like Palantir, who should have no place in delivering UK public services."

Sign our petition ⬇️

Quote: "With increasing geopolitical uncertainty as a result of US and Israeli military actions, the UK must ensure that it has control over its critical digital infrastructure. Digital sovereignty must be a priority.” from Clive Lewis MP, Labour Party. Background: Abstract series of shapes and checkboard patterns in different colours.

“For too long, Big Tech corporations have embedded themselves in our public services, locked us into contracts that serve their shareholders not citizens, and even shaped government policy."

@labourlewis.bsky.social on the need for Digital Sovereignty and Open Source, as detailed in our new report.

Stop the "Kill Switch": Demand the UK takes back control of our technology. From the NHS to our energy grid, we are too reliant on US tech. Help us demand digital independence.

ORG's report shows our over-reliance on foreign companies has become an urgent issue of national security.

It also leads to vendor lock-in, inflated costs for government and business and the extraction of value from the UK economy. This can change.

Tell the government we need Digital Sovereignty ⬇️

UK digital infrastructure is on shaky ground.

Our dependency on Big Tech must end. We're being ripped off and putting our systems at risk of foreign interference.

ORG's @jim.killock.org.uk explains why we need Digital Sovereignty with open source tech.

➡️ www.openrightsgroup.org/publications...

Break Big Tech: Dismantle the root cause of online harms Platforms like X, Facebook and Instagram harvest our personal data so that they can target us with ads. Their platforms are designed to keep us online, pushing out content that will keep us engaged.…

The UK government is stuck treating the symptoms, not the root cause of online harms.

Nothing changes until we break the business model that drives hate and extremism; the harvesting of our data to maximise engagement and fuel advertising.

It's time to #BreakBigTech.

Sign and share our petition ⬇️

Starmer tells social media firms in No 10 meeting ‘things can’t go on like this’ PM summons senior figures from Meta, TikTok, Google and X and says social media is ‘putting our children at risk’

Re: Agenda for meeting with social media bosses.

✅️ Uphold data protection to tackle targeted advertising.

✅️ Make algorithms transparent and give users control over them.

✅️ Introduce social media switching rights like banking and mobile phones, so we can change platforms without losing networks.

Protect Britain’s Digital Backbone — Ask Your MP to Act Take action! What’s the problem? The UK’s digital backbone. The cloud services, data systems, and platforms that underpin government, public services, and democratic processes is dangerously reliant…

"By investing in open source software and diversity of talent, pioneering British businesses could deliver accessible, user-friendly services designed with the people who use them in mind. It is an open-goal we must not miss.”

🗣️ @sianberry.bsky.social

Tell your MP to support Digital Sovereignty ⬇️

Quote: "Striving for digital sovereignty with the recommendations in this report as our guide, should be a top Government objective, and is a massive chance to grow the UK’s homegrown technology sector." from Siân Berry MP, Green Party. Background: Abstract series of shapes and checkboard patterns in different colours.

“[We] must build much more resilience to protect our critical digital infrastructure from the potential threat of sanctions and service withdrawal."

@sianberry.bsky.social on ORG's report, calling for Digital Sovereignty and investment in open source tech to end our over-reliance on US tech giants.

Digital rights organizers warn UK is too reliant on big tech, urge digital sovereignty The Open Rights Group calls for open source tech to drive digital sovereignty in the UK public sector and protect national security

"For years, a handful of Big Tech companies have used their power to gain control of the UK’s digital infrastructure, locking the government into wasteful contracts and shaping tech policy in their favour."

🗣️ ORG's @jim.killock.org.uk on our new report calling for UK Digital Sovereignty.

Stop the "Kill Switch": Demand the UK takes back control of our technology. From the NHS to our energy grid, we are too reliant on US tech. Help us demand digital independence.

A growing number of MPs that have signed the Early Day Motion calling for a Digital Sovereignty strategy and spoken out in debates.

It'll take political courage to end our digital dependency on powerful tech companies. But the risks of not acting are greater.

Sign and share our petition ⬇️

The way forward is having the leadership to promote alternatives to Big Tech and using shared, Open Source tech.

It isn't about 'Buy British'. Open Source allows multiple partners and governments to develop the tools they need.

That means no vendor lock-in that frees us from coersion and control.

The dominance of Big Tech in social media is itself a risk to democracy.

Yet the government supports Big Tech monopolies with ad spending and content without publishing on the alternatives.

They complain about Big Tech’s failures, while only giving users the opportunity to engage through Big Tech.

Digital dependence poses serious democratic risks.

They include lobbying, interference in trade agreements, deregulation and producing e-waste.

Governments become spellbound by techno-solutionism as vendors promote their way of doing things.

This only leads to greater economic extraction.

Making ourselves dependent on Big Tech has been a fatal mistake.

The Post Office scandal didn't come from nowhere. Outsourcing our systems to the exclusive product of a single provider means we're locked-in to using it and them.

This leads to over-charging that costs in failure and extracts value.

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?

The UK government has blanked the risks of US tech dependency for too long.

Our digital infrastructure is a strategic asset.

But that understanding is absent in how we hand out public sector contracts and allow UK tech sector sell-offs to foreign companies.

We must shift the dial.

Read more ⬇️

New report: UK needs digital sovereignty strategy to address threats from reliance on big tech The UK’s over-reliance on a small number of tech giants for its digital infrastructure is a matter of national security that must be urgently addressed, warns a new report by Open Rights Group.

Digital Sovereignty is the ability to have control over our digital infrastructure, data and technology.

That's means giving companies like Palantir the boot and investing in open source systems.

It'll make us more competitive and innovative, reduce costs and enhance security.

Read more ⬇️

NHS Staff Told ‘Stop Criticising Palantir or Lose Your Job’ NHS staff have been told they might lose their jobs if they criticise NHS England’s controversial £330m contract with IDF-contractor Palantir.

NHS workers are being gagged from criticising the Palantir contract 🤐

We can't duck the hard truths that embedding US Big Tech in UK public services carries risks of outside political interference and waste from vendor lock-in.

The alternative is here: Digital Sovereignty with open source tech.

Stop the "Kill Switch": Demand the UK takes back control of our technology. From the NHS to our energy grid, we are too reliant on US tech. Help us demand digital independence.

Running key systems on products from companies like Palantir means foreign governments can meddle with our security.

We're overexposed to US sanctions and powers that can compel tech companies to hand over data or grant access to UK systems.

There's another way.

Demand UK Digital Sovereignty ⬇️

UK reliance on US big tech companies is ‘national security risk’, claims report | Computer Weekly The UK is over-reliant on a small number of big tech companies to provide critical data centres, software and digital infrastructure, placing national security at risk. A report by the Open Rights…

The UK's "over-reliance on foreign [tech] companies has become an urgent issue of national security as US foreign policy actions are creating geopolitical uncertainty.”

Our new report calls for the UK to pursue Digital Sovereignty to protect its critical infrastructure.

🗣️ ORG's @jim.killock.org.uk

Stop the "Kill Switch": Demand the UK takes back control of our technology. From the NHS to our energy grid, we are too reliant on US tech. Help us demand digital independence.

Our communications, banking, energy, travel and healthcare systems shouldn't be in the palm of Trump's hands or any foreign leader.

Open source solutions put the UK in charge of its own future, being able to switch providers without changing systems.

Sign our petition for UK #DigitalSovereignty ⬇️

The UK must follow the lead of EU countries, including Germany, France, Netherlands and Denmark.

We must pursue strategic investments in open source technologies, so we aren't locked-in to the exclusive product of a single provider.

We can break the risky cycle of dependency and boost innovation.

Digital Sovereignty means putting the levers of power in the hands of UK democratic institutions. Making us resilient, independent and secure.

And yet, the government continues along a path of reinforcing dependency on US tech giants, by handing contracts to controversial spyware company Palantir.