News India Live, Digital Desk: Over the past few decades, some of America’s biggest tech companies like Google, Facebook (now Meta) and Amazon have dominated the digital infrastructure of the entire world. If you want to send a message to someone then you need WhatsApp, if you want to search something then you need Google, and if you want to buy something then Amazon.

But now the European Union has decided to end this ‘technical dependence’. Europe a new word, ‘Digital Sovereignty’is using and is preparing to challenge the ’empire’ of American Big Tech companies.

What is ‘Digital Sovereignty’? (in easy language)

In simple terms, digital sovereignty means that a country (or block, such as the European Union) has the full power to control its own technology, its own data, and its own cyberspace. This means that:

1. Development of European Technology: Europe will work on the technology, software and chips that it has created itself, so that it does not have to depend on outside companies.
2. European rules tops: If foreign tech companies want to operate in Europe, they have to follow European rules without any ifs and buts.

Why is Europe so afraid of American tech?

This fear is not just about business competition, but is to security and privacy.

• Economic Control: When all the necessary platforms (from search engines to cloud services) are owned by foreign companies, they also begin to control the economy, and European companies are left behind.
• Political interference: Foreign companies have greater control over social media platforms during elections or other political issues, which can affect democracy.

Europe’s ‘master plan’: emphasis on AI and chips

The European Union is taking huge steps in this direction.

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) Law: Europe has passed the strictest AI laws in the world, so that major AI technologies work strictly according to their rules.
• Digital Markets Act (DMA): This law has imposed strict rules on companies like Google and Meta, so that they cannot misuse their market power.

This step of Europe is not limited to data privacy only. This is the fight of the times to come, the fight for sovereignty over technology. If Europe succeeds in this, the rest of the world, including India, can take inspiration from it to secure its ‘digital empire’.