From Microsoft to Meta, Apple to Uber, cloud computing to AI, much of the day-to-day technology used by Europeans is American.
As Europe faces Trump's tariffs, and threatens to tax US tech unless the two sides clinch a deal averting all-out trade war, there is a growing sense of urgency.
“We have to build up our own capacities when it comes to technologies,“ EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen has said, identifying three critical sectors: AI, quantum and semiconductors.
That is giving fresh impetus to demands by industry, experts and EU lawmakers for Europe to bolster its infrastructure and cut reliance on a small group of US firms.
'Buy European' push
Around two-thirds of Europe's cloud market is in the hands of US titans: Amazon, Microsoft and Google, while European cloud providers make up only two percent.
Although the idea of a European social media platform to rival Facebook or X is given short shrift, officials believe that in the crucial AI field, the race is far from over.
“Incentives to buy European are important,“ Benjamin Revcolevschi, chief executive of French cloud provider OVHcloud, told AFP, welcoming the broader made-in-Europe push.
There are calls for greater independence from US financial technology as well, with European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde advocating a “European offer” to rival American (Mastercard, Visa and Paypal) and Chinese payment systems (Alipay).
Industry insiders are also aware building tech sovereignty requires massive investment, at a moment when the EU is pouring money into defence.
US trade group Chamber of Progress puts it much higher, at over five trillion euros.
US Vice President JD Vance has taken aim at tech regulation in denouncing Europe's social and economic model -- accusing it of stifling innovation and unfairly hampering US firms, many of whom have aligned with Trump's administration.
After repeated abuses by US Big Tech, the EU created major laws regulating the online world including the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA).
In practice, supporters say the DMA encourages users to discover European platforms -- for instance giving users a choice of browser, rather than the default from Apple or Google.
Lawson insists it's not about being anti-American.
Pointing at rules in Europe that “don’t necessarily exist in the United States”, he said users simply “prefer to have their data processed by a European company”.
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