The question of who controls digital infrastructure has become one of the central power questions of our era. The internet was conceived as a decentralised, open network. In practice, it is dominated by a small number of US and Chinese platforms that handle the majority of global communications, commerce, and data processing. European nations have responded with regulatory frameworks like GDPR, and with growing interest in 'digital sovereignty' — the idea that states should have meaningful control over their citizens' data and critical digital infrastructure. The tension runs deep: open, interoperable digital systems maximise innovation and global exchange, but also expose nations to foreign surveillance, platform dependence, and the concentration of geopolitical power in private hands. The debate is no longer merely technical. It is about who governs the information environment in which democracies operate.

💡 Did you know? The EU's GDPR, introduced in 2018, has issued over €4 billion in fines to date. Meta alone has been fined over €1 billion for transferring European user data to the US without adequate protections.