Can Trump Disconnect the Internet for Europe? 0 10

According to a new survey, most Europeans believe that the U.S. can stop providing technologies that Europe heavily depends on — 86% of respondents think that sudden actions by the U.S. to restrict Europe’s access to digital services are "likely" and "should not be ruled out," writes nra.lv citing "Politico." At the same time, 59% called it "a real and concrete risk already now," according to the results of a survey conducted by SWG and "Polling Europe" and presented this week to Members of the European Parliament.

European governments are striving to reduce dependence on American technologies in critical areas such as cloud services, communications, and artificial intelligence.

One of the concerns driving the shift to local technologies is the so-called "switch" — the idea that U.S. President Donald Trump could force American technology providers to stop services in Europe.

These concerns were heightened after the case when the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, lost access to his "Microsoft" email account last year after U.S. sanctions were imposed against him.

"Over the past year, everyone has really realized how important it is not to depend on one country or one company when it comes to some very important technologies," said the head of the EU technology sector, Henna Virkkunen.

"In our time, dependencies can be used as a weapon against us," she added.

The survey, conducted in January, involved 5,079 respondents from all 27 EU countries.

The European Parliament and a number of state institutions are already taking steps to move away from widely used American technologies, although capitals of EU countries warn that such a transition will not happen quickly.

The European Commission will present a package of proposals to reduce dependence on foreign technologies at the end of May.

The survey shows that attempts by the U.S. to refute the "switch" scenario have not convinced Europeans.

U.S. Director of National Cybersecurity Sean Kerncross stated in February in Munich that the idea that Trump could disconnect the internet is not "plausible."

Microsoft President Brad Smith also noted last year in Brussels that the implementation of the "switch" scenario is "extremely unlikely," but acknowledged that it is a "real concern for people across Europe."