Why Digital Sovereignty is More Than Mere Legal Compliance
Understanding Digital Sovereignty
The term "digital sovereignty" has been redefined and reframed countless times in recent digital political discourse. From open-source strategies to franchise agreements with tech giants, interpretations vary widely. This diversity not only allows proprietary technology providers to use the term as a façade but also complicates rational evaluation for governments, institutions, companies, and individuals alike.
This article demystifies digital sovereignty, exploring its dimensions and establishing a framework to evaluate digital offerings beyond buzzwords.
What is Sovereignty?
Sovereignty, at its core, refers to “supreme authority within a territory” (Philpott, 2020). However, in the digital age, this definition extends to cover resources like human infrastructures and digital processes.
In 2018, the German "Digital Gipfel" articulated digital sovereignty as:
"The ability to use and design digital systems, self-determination over aggregated and stored data, and over related processes."
To understand and foster digital sovereignty, we must examine its key dimensions.
Dimensions of Digital Sovereignty
1. Legal Dimension
Digital sovereignty involves the ability to define and enforce rules for digital solutions. The EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) exemplifies this by protecting individual freedoms and ensuring data transparency and control. However, challenges like the Schrems II ruling and dependency on foreign cloud providers highlight the need for deeper sovereignty measures.
Franchise agreements with local operators attempt to address these issues but often lack self-determination and transparency, leaving organizations dependent on external providers.
2. Freedom of Choice
Vendor lock-ins often prevent organizations from switching providers without prohibitive costs. Open standards and open-source software mitigate this by enabling interoperability and flexibility, allowing organizations to switch providers or operate their own infrastructure.
3. Technological Dimension
Proprietary licenses and vendor dependencies undermine self-determination. Open-source software, with its transparency, peer review, and adaptability, provides a foundation for technological sovereignty. However, this requires active communities and expertise to sustain and utilize open-source solutions effectively.
4. Competence Dimension
The greatest software is useless without the skills to operate it. Building and retaining expertise is critical for digital sovereignty. Sharing operational knowledge openly, akin to the open-source movement, fosters resilience and self-determination.
The Role of Sovereign Cloud Stack (SCS)
The Sovereign Cloud Stack embodies digital sovereignty by combining open standards, open-source implementations, and operational transparency. It simplifies the delivery of secure and high-quality cloud services, reducing dependencies and fostering collaboration. SCS ensures compliance with European regulations and supports data protection standards like GDPR.
Key Contributions to Digital Sovereignty
1. Open Standards
SCS defines and adheres to open standards, ensuring interoperability and eliminating vendor lock-in risks.
2. Open Source
By leveraging the principles of the Four Opens, SCS ensures transparency, adaptability, and long-term sustainability.
3. Knowledge Sharing
SCS facilitates a culture of sharing operational knowledge, strengthening the collective capability to deliver sovereign solutions.
Call to Action
Achieving digital sovereignty is a collective effort. Organizations, governments, and individuals must collaborate to build open and resilient digital systems.
Bibliography
- Oppenheim, L. (1912). International Law. A Treatise. Volume I.
- Philpott, D. (2020). Sovereignty. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
- Digital-Gipfel. (2018). Digitale Souveränität in einer vernetzten Gesellschaft.
- Riehle, D. (2013). The Unstoppable Rise of Open Source. IT Information Technology.
