On the June 12th 2026, one of European tech’s hottest debates shifted from policy papers to a reality. The need to develop “sovereign” products and reduce dependence on US big tech was laid bare when the Trump administration ordered Silicon Valley’s Anthropic to prevent foreign nationals using its most powerful AI models.This live demonstration of the so-called “digital kill switch,” where US providers limit the use of strategic technologies to other countries, served as a wake-up call for many around Europe, showing the need to build more homegrown solutions.In our most recent Sifted Talks, in partnership with workplace solutions builder Proton, our panellists discussed how company builders on this side of the Atlantic are migrating to a more sovereign tech stack, and what needs to change to reduce our reliance on the US.Our panel of experts included:
Kai Zenner, digital policy advisor at the European Parliament
Cristina Caffarra, economist and chair of tech sovereignty policy initiative EuroStack
Raphael Auphan, chief operating officer at Proton
Fabrizio Pirondini, cofounder and CEO of satellite data startup Xoople
