In light of the digitalisation efforts of the COVID-19 pandemic, ViOffice was founded in 2020 with the particular intention of offering private individuals, associations and companies in Germany a sustainable, transparent office platform that is primarily operated on the basis of free and open source software. It was important that such a platform is completely independent of third-party services (especially from non-EU countries) and that all data and information never leaves the servers in Germany.
Of course, this idea was nothing new at the time. Particularly among European open source enthusiasts, there have been and continue to be efforts to build European platforms that are independent of tech giants such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Apple, Tencent, and Alibaba at various scales. For example, the European cloud platform Gaia-X, which has been planned for years, is intended to finally digitise the European economy and catapult it into the 21st century, although progress is slow. [1]
Open source solutions for end users, such as Nextcloud, are also enjoying growing popularity, particularly in Germany — and not just among IT experts and data protection activists. [2, 3]
At a macro level, Europe is nevertheless facing a seemingly unsolvable problem: dependence of their economies on US tech services. This is not necessarily about the services used daily by millions of people in Europe, such as Instagram, Whatsapp, Amazon, Netflix, or Google. Here, too, there is undoubtedly a dependency or at least strong integration, the loss of which could have unpleasant personal consequences. This in turn could lead to a shift in (negotiating) power in favour of the USA in particular.
However, much more attention needs to be paid to the dependence of European companies and the state itself on non-European tech companies. For example, when the processes of administrations or the economic future of an entire region depend on individual actors with fundamentally different interests. [4]
Dependence on „Cloud-Capital“
For all the criticism of dependencies on foreign service providers, it is important not to fall into nationalism and compartmentalisation. The use of services from the USA, China or other tech metropolises is not a problem per se. Globalisation brings economic, cultural and, of course, infrastructural interdependencies, which should be seen as an opportunity rather than a concern. In Europe, the advantages of economic co-operation are more visible than anywhere else in the world, especially in view of the continent’s history of national solo efforts, mutual isolationism and wars over the past centuries. And, of course, this also applies beyond the borders of the European Union.
These interdependencies may become a problem however, due to economic dependencies on monopolies or actors that pursue conflicting interests. Europe is experiencing the latter painfully in the course of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in conjunction with the energy dependencies with the aggressor. Or currently also in the tariffs conflict with the USA. [5]
The economist and former finance minister of Greece, Yanis Varoufakis, goes one step further in his analysis of the impact of global tech giants on the entire world. He describes a process over the last few decades that has led to market logic being largely cancelled out by the emergence of monopolies. Instead of profits, these companies would generate rents in a system that he compares to pre-capitalist feudalism. Direct and almost unbreakable dependencies are part of this construct, as is the lack of competition. [6, 7, 8]
A European Google?
Politicians in Europe have been calling for the creation of a ‘European Google’, not least since the impending tariff dispute with the USA. What is meant by this is not (just) a European search engine of its own, without dependencies on the United States of America, but one or more European tech giants that can compete with the American and Chinese tech hegemony. [9, 10, 11]
The concern that the conflict with the USA could lead to a situation where they ‘pull the plug’ on Europe, i.e. IT infrastructure is simply switched off overnight, is no longer unthinkable. And even if this does not happen, the high level of dependency due to the widespread use of Microsoft Windows & Office, Amazon AWS, Google Cloud & Android, Apple and payment service providers such as PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, the Swift payment system and many others is shifting the negotiating power substantially towards the USA. [4, 10, 11, 12]
Although a ‘European Google’ could presumably reduce dependence on non-European tech giants if such a company could be successfully established. However, dependence on a local ‘tech fiefdom’, as Varoufakis calls it, would probably not be in the interests of European citizens either. [7, 8, 11]
On the one hand, counter-monopolies are not an adequate remedy against existing dominance and do not strengthen the position of European consumers. Rather, they favour a process that the author Cory Doctorow calls ‘enshittification’. Secondly, the establishment of a European tech giant in response to the status quo follows nationalist tendencies and exploitation elsewhere in the world, for example by cheap ‘click labour’ in the Global South. [13, 14]
This is precisely where free and open source software has huge potential. Following the campaign ‘Public Money? Public Code!‘, now would be the time to invest heavily in publicly financed, jointly determined software and platforms provided for the common good instead of relying on nationalism and market dominance. At the same time, it is necessary to limit the impact of the market power of global tech giants and to disengage from them as quickly as possible — especially where democratic institutions may be affected. Above all, targeted control and corresponding political commitment are required. [14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19]
This undertaking is a social and, first and foremost, a political one. However, politics and the economy do not exist in a vacuum. Public discussion and private action can certainly have an influence also on political action. And so we would like to speak out in favour of the use of independent software, trustworthy platforms and the reduction of lock-in effects and promote the spread of such services also on an individual level. Software or platforms are not better per se if they come from Europe or Germany. A ‘patriotic use of software’ does not solve the underlying problems. Open standards, transparent development and the facilitation of an actual, fair and consumer-orientated market, on the other hand, do just that.
Sources
- Dachwitz, I., Biselli, A., Rudl, T. (2019): Schornsteine zu Cloudspeichern. URL: https://netzpolitik.org/2019/schornsteine-zu-cloudspeichern/
- Korotaev, M. (2023): Nextcloud 2023 Wrap-Up. URL: https://nextcloud.com/de/blog/nextcloud-2023-wrap-up/
- Poortvliet, J. (2022): Nextcloud keeps growth up with 75% more revenue and 10x userbase. URL: https://nextcloud.com/de/blog/nextcloud-keeps-growth-up-with-75-more-revenue-and-10x-userbase/
- Zajonz, D. (2025): Deutschland in der Digitalfalle?. URL: https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/digitales/microsoft-50-jahre-dominanz-techindustrie-100.html
- Albert, E. (2025): Tariffs: A major global economic slowdown looms. URL: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2025/04/05/tariffs-a-major-global-economic-slowdown-looms_6739865_19.html
- Ali, S. H. (2023): Yanis Varoufakis’s new book argues capitalism has mutated into technofeudalism. URL: https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/books/2023/09/26/yanis-varoufakis-technofeudalism-book
- Yanis Varoufakis (2023): Technofeudalism – What Killed Capitalism. ISBN: 978-1-5299-2609-5.
- Meaker, M. (2024): Welcome to the Age of Technofeudalism. URL: https://www.wired.com/story/yanis-varoufakis-technofeudalism-interview/
- Thurau, J. (2025): Robert Habeck: “Das nächste Google muss aus Europa kommen”. URL: https://www.dw.com/de/habeck-das-n%C3%A4chste-google-muss-aus-europa-kommen/a-71357385
- Kreye, A. (2025): Einfach mal den Stecker ziehen. URL: https://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/max-schrems-transatlantischer-datenverkehr-li.3226552
- Reuter, M. (2025): Wie kann Europa digital unabhängiger werden? URL: https://netzpolitik.org/2025/digitale-souveraenitaet-und-eurostack-wie-kann-europa-digital-unabhaengiger-werden/
- Heise c’t (2025): Europäische Cloudanbieter planen gemeinsamen API-Standard. c’t 9/2025, S. 49 URL: https://www.heise.de/select/ct/2025/9/2509113374370157324
- Marx, P. (2024): A Setback for Gig Workers’ Rights in Europe. URL: https://techwontsave.us/episode/209_a_setback_for_gig_workers_rights_in_europe_w_ben_wray
- Blankertz, A. (2025): On tech sovereignty – how to nail jelly to a tree. URL: https://www.structural-integrity.eu/on-tech-sovereignty-how-to-nail-jelly-to-a-tree/
- Rikap, Cecilia; Durand, Cédric; Paraná, Edemilson; Gerbaudo, Paolo; Marx, Paris; (2024) Reclaiming digital sovereignty: A roadmap to build a digital stack for people and the planet. UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP): London, UK. URL: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10202865/
- TAZ (2025): EU will manipulative Praktiken beenden. URL: https://taz.de/Big-Tech-Konzerne/!6081695/
- Kramp, L., Weichert, S. (2025): Warum Journalismus mehr Rückgrat benötigt. URL: https://taz.de/Medien-und-Demokratie/!6079120/
- LeMonde (2025): The EU must stand firm against digital giants. URL: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/article/2025/04/24/the-eu-must-stand-firm-against-digital-giants_6740578_23.html
- Marx, P. (2025): Can Europe End Its Dependence on US Tech? URL: https://techwontsave.us/episode/271_can_europe_end_its_dependence_on_us_tech_w_aline_blankertz
Jan is co-founder of ViOffice. He is responsible for the technical implementation and maintenance of the software. His interests lie in particular in the areas of security, data protection and encryption.
In addition to his studies in economics, later in applied statistics and his subsequent doctorate, he has years of experience in software development, open source and server administration.