Today is the first "Digital Independence Day" #DID, proclaimed at the #39C3 by several digital policy NGOs and EU corporations. It advocates switching from Chrome to Firefox, from GMail to ProtonMail, from Google Search to Ecosia etc This is framed in the familiar story of taking away power from US tech monopolies and strengthening (European) alternatives.
@malteengeler just wondering, did you watch the video?
Because the point in this is to use the day to do a change you are already planning for some time and never found time. Or to start a plus one.
( And it's also mentioned, this should not be a cult, but a relexed and concious move on from the current situation)
@malteengeler Warum eigentlich #Ecosia und nicht #DuckDuckGo? Ecosia ist doch am Ende auch nur #Google + #Bing? 🤔
The name "Independence Day" (intentionally or not) evokes picture of the US declaration of independence towards the British Empire, turning the American colonies into sovereign states. This mirrors how European policymakers talk about "digital sovereignty" and how the broader tech community is focussing on "Big Tech“, or the „Broligarchy“ etc.
Much has been said about "digital sovereignty" and how it risks reproducing notions of nationalism, patriotism and European exceptionalism while obfuscating more systemic issues of market based economies, e.g. in this post by @alineblankertz:
https://www.structural-integrity.eu/on-tech-sovereignty-how-to-nail-jelly-to-a-tree/
Just as with "digital sovereignty" I have substantial reservations regarding the value of a campaign like "Digital Independence Day". While I undoubtedly encourage everyone to use services that are less toxic than others this focus on individual usage and European alternatives comes with all the baggage discussed at length elsewhere.
It focusses on monopolies while ignoring that all capitalist competition demands corporations to favor profit over user interests, no matter whether it is a US or EU tech company. It focuses on supposedly "ethical alternatives" while ignoring that no corporation is your friend. European tech companies might appear less problematic right now but they still are privately owned corporations. Switching to their services is like choosing a more polite or familiar tyrant.
