Why does dependence on Big Tech infrastructure threaten a state's sovereignty?

The internet's infrastructure is global and distributed, so purely legal or political measures cannot secure state control over it. A state that depends on foreign providers can in principle be switched off by them, and it is unclear which data falls under whose jurisdiction.

The deck's illustration: Microsoft could in theory revoke its licences and shut down the entire Swiss federal administration at the push of a button.

This dependence creates uncertainty about sovereignty in two ways:

• Jurisdiction: which data belongs under Swiss jurisdiction and which falls under the US?
• Vulnerabilities: weaknesses that can be exploited for anything from election hacking to cyberattacks on critical infrastructure.

Go deeper:

• Wikipedia: Digital sovereignty — overview of the concept and national strategies.