Technological sovereignty and the need for strategic autonomy have shifted in recent years from being a debate exclusive to think tanks and academics to a concern that is increasingly worrying among citizens and companies, as a climate of distrust with major US tech companies takes hold.
A study by Fundación Telefónica and Metroscopia published this Wednesday reveals that nearly 80% of Spaniards see it as "likely" or "quite likely" that US tech companies like Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Google, and Amazon are selling or sharing their data without their permission, a clear indication of the distrust of the public towards the growing power these companies wield in their daily lives.
Almost an identical percentage believes that Europe is too dependent on the United States technologically, especially concerning artificial intelligence, chosen by 73% of respondents as the area where they perceive this relationship to be most prevalent. Additionally, 62% of citizens and 49% of companies see this situation as a threat to Europe.
Among the areas that most concern Spaniards is the potential access to banking information, a worry for 90%, followed by financial and tax information (85%) and geolocation and mobility, at 79%.
In line with this opinion, 69% of respondents believe Europe is falling behind in the technological race against the American and Chinese giants, and of those, barely half are confident that Europe will be able to respond in the technological field.
Despite the importance given to the technological field, only 29% of respondents had heard of digital sovereignty before, a percentage that barely rises to 36% among entrepreneurs.
This lack of awareness extends, for example, to the existence of European alternatives to the main US technological applications or services. 67% of those surveyed do not know of any European alternatives to these platforms, but 70% would prioritize a European provider over an American one if the services offered were the same.