Europe's digital world at risk: Trump could turn off internet on continent - Politico

Leading giants - Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are handing over Europe's online existence into the hands of firms connected to the US President. American agencies may spy, and as a result of trade "escalations," Europe will face problems with its digital world.

UNN reports with reference to Politico.

Details

Since Trump launched his trade war, Europeans are beginning to realize that years of excessive reliance on a few American tech giants have given Washington the upper hand.

Currently, companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google hold over two-thirds of the regional market. Moreover, it is stated that the resource is increasingly controlled by firms with ties to US President Donald Trump. According to the publication, this is due to the desire to "protect themselves from impending regulatory norms and fines."

It should be noted that cloud computing is essentially the "lifeblood" of the internet. This structure provides everything from the emails we send and videos we stream to processing industrial data and government communications.

In current times of wars and trade confrontations, given the style of the political cycle in which the White House chief "instantly changes laws," there are genuine fears that the US administration could use its technological dominance as a weapon for influence abroad.

Will Washington forego attempting to influence cloud services in Europe?

The European cloud industry has avoided lobbying and politics for too long, according to a statement from Alexander Windbichler, CEO of the Austrian cloud company Anexia.

"I don't know. But I never expected the U.S. to threaten to take Greenland. That's crazier than shutting down the cloud," Windbichler said.

Zach Meyers, research director at the CERRE think tank in Brussels, is quite steadfast in his skepticism, but also in his warnings.

Trump genuinely hates Europe. He believes that the entire purpose of the EU is to "set up" America

The idea that he could order a power shutdown, or do something else that would significantly harm economic interests, is not as implausible as it might have seemed half a year ago.

"The risk of a shutdown is a new paradigm," Benjamin Revcolevsky, head of the French champion OVHcloud, stated at the same event. "The cloud is like a water tap. What if the tap closes at some point?"

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The technological equivalent of closing the tap would be the US administration ordering cloud companies to cease providing services in Europe. Cloud computing works by providing businesses with virtual access to data storage and computing power, significantly expanding capabilities through their massive networks of physical data centers worldwide.

And while service disruptions remain an extreme scenario, American tech giants no longer rule it out as a possibility.

Recall

EU officials are discussing possible Trump actions, including the complete rollback of support for Ukraine and the start of a large-scale trade war. Official Brussels fears that Trump will combine these issues into a pressure tool.