Our communication currently often takes place via platforms over which we have no control
I’ve never used WhatsApp, and the only Meta account I’ve ever had was for Facebook when it first came out. Which makes me a bit of an outlier, I know.
But it seems that other people are cottoning-on to the fact that US Big Tech companies do not have the best interests of European users at heart. I use and recommend Signal, but even that - if not ‘Big Tech’ - is US-based.
This article talks about how European governments are switching to encrypted apps under their control. I applaud the move! For more like this, see the first TechFreedom Dispatch.
Governments in France, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium have started rolling out in-house messaging services for officials to exchange sensitive information, in an effort to stop staff from using popular encrypted apps and switch to local alternatives they can control. Defense alliance NATO also has its own messenger, and the European Commission plans to make the switch by the end of the year.
The move toward government-controlled messaging apps is part of Europe’s search for alternatives to American technology, sparked by fears of being strategically dependent on Washington. WhatsApp is owned by U.S. tech giant Meta, while Signal is run by a U.S.-based non-profit and managed by a large community of open-source software enthusiasts.
The effort to unplug from American companies also reflects growing recognition among governments of the vulnerabilities of mainstream messaging apps for sharing sensitive information between politicians.
“Our communication currently often takes place via platforms over which we have no control,” Willemijn Aerdts, the Netherlands’ digital minister, told POLITICO in a statement. “In a world where technology is increasingly being used as a tool of power, that poses a risk.”
Source: Politico
Image: Tushar Mahajan