If you’re a “thought leader” about anything in European politics, it’s imperative you practice what you preach in terms of the tech you use

Von der Leyen’s State of the Union speech today was full of references to tech sovereignty. You probably read on X, WhatsApp or Substack. Or maybe on Facebook, Instagram, or perhaps even watched on TikTok.

You might even have read about it in Table.media’s new WhatsApp channel, or CEPS’s Thinking Ahead for Europe – now on Substack.

And by now I assume you see where I am going with this.

If tech sovereignty is to mean anything, that also has to start with how each of us uses technology. Wean yourself off US pro-Trump or at least Trump-accepting tools, and get used to using alternatives. And that ought to especially apply if you are one of the organisations – like Table.media or CEPS – that is supposedly meant to be setting a forward looking agenda in politics. You would be more coherent talking about the future of Europe in a Trump-chaos-of-the-jungle world if you yourselves practiced what you preached, and took consequential tech choices.

Are you going to change the world with this stance? No. But is an action you can take. You can show it is possible, show it works. Show to friends and colleagues that it works. Show you are taking some sort of action.

Sure, this does not mean the EU should not impose its own standards in its own markets (like the Commission fining Google last week). But the idea that the European Union is going to be able to turn X or Meta into reasonable platforms is totally pie in the sky. Regulate where you can, but build alternatives as well as a matter of need.

So CEPS, use Ghost instead of Substack. Table.media, use Signal instead of WhatsApp. Start there.

“Ah but I will have to leave my audience behind!” I hear you complaining. Sorry, live with it. Live with the consequences of this changed world. These changes are not going to be without a price. Trust me, I know. I left 75000 followers behind when I closed my X account, my audience everywhere else now much smaller, but I would have been a hypocrite had I not left X when it crossed to being full on evil.

And if you want a milder version? Keep Facebook/X/Insta etc. on your phone if you wish, but use every opportunity to use the alternatives. Steadily shift your messenger communication over to Signal, steadily build up your audience on Mastodon/Bluesky/Ghost as alternatives to US commercial and centralised platforms. And if you do this sensibly and consciously now, it is going to be easier than being forced to do it when things get even worse on X or Meta platforms at some point in the future.