Achieving Digital Sovereignty in Europe Through Open Source
16.08.2025 , HS 8
Sprache: English

As Europe strives for greater digital independence, open source is emerging as a key enabler of digital sovereignty. Reliance on proprietary software and foreign tech giants poses significant risks to security, privacy, and economic resilience.


As Europe strives for greater digital independence, open source is emerging as a key enabler of digital sovereignty. Reliance on proprietary software and foreign tech giants poses significant risks to security, privacy, and economic resilience. This presentation will explore how open-source technologies empower governments, businesses, and institutions to regain control over their digital infrastructure. By leveraging open standards, community-driven development, and transparent governance, Europe can build a more secure, innovative, and self-sufficient digital ecosystem. Nextcloud serves as a prime example of how a European open-source company can successfully provide a viable alternative to big tech, proving that digital sovereignty is not just an ideal but a reality. However, despite the availability of open-source solutions, the political will to implement them at scale is often lacking, hindering true digital independence.

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Frank Karlitschek is a long time open source contributor and former board member of the KDE e.V. He founded Nextcloud in 2016 to create a fully open source and decentralized alternative to big centralized cloud companies. Frank was an invited expert at the W3C to help to create the ActivityPub standard. Frank has spoken at MIT, CERN, Harvard and ETH and keynoted LinuxCon, Latinoware, FOSSASIA, Campus Party and many other conferences. Frank is the founder and CEO of Nextcloud GmbH. He is also a fellow of Open Forum Europe and an advisor to the United Nations regarding Open Source. Frank won the European SFS Free Software Award 2023 and the Acteurs du Libre European Award 2023.