Nearly everything we use online is owned by big tech. There’s a better way forward
Nearly everything we use online is owned by big tech. There’s a better way forward
Publish Date: 2026-05-20 16:05:00
Source Domain: theconversation.com
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Dominance of American Tech Giants: Most digital media and infrastructure globally is dominated by a few American tech companies like Apple, Windows, and Android for operating systems and cloud services like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Cloudflare.
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Entrenchment in Ecosystems: Tech companies like Google and Microsoft are embedding AI assistants into everyday devices, further locking users into specific ecosystems and reducing their digital autonomy.
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Global Risks and Cybersecurity Events: A cybersecurity update bringing down Windows computers worldwide highlighted the risks of being too reliant on a single tech provider, emphasizing the need for greater digital sovereignty.
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Digital Sovereignty Movement in the EU: The European Union is leading a digital sovereignty movement to achieve digital autonomy, reducing reliance on foreign tech giants by promoting local AI development and ownership of digital infrastructure.
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Challenges for Tech Giants: Large tech companies like Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon are attempting to retain influence by offering local governments and organizations more control over digital services under the “sovereignty-as-a-service” model.
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Alternative Platforms: There are viable alternatives like decentralized social media ecosystems, open-source office suites, and self-hosted AI systems that reduce dependence on multinational corporations for digital services.
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Lessons for Australia: Australia can follow Europe’s lead by developing its own digital sovereignty strategy, promoting local tech innovation, and respecting Indigenous knowledge and sovereignty to ensure its digital future is less reliant on foreign tech.
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Local Innovations and Indigenous Technology: Australia should leverage publicly funded institutions and support indigenous frameworks for technology and data sovereignty, such as developed by Maiam nayri Wingara and the HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons.
