America Inc has a tight grip on allied governments
Companies from Palantir to Lockheed account for a small share of spending, but are hard to shake.
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British politicians are urging the prime minister to implement a break clause in a contract between Palantir, an American analytics firm, and the National Health Service.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The Economist
“I miss nothing,” declares Dirk Schrodter, the digitisation minister for the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Over a video call using OpenTalk, a German alternative to Microsoft’s Teams, he explains how in the past two years he has moved some 30,000 of the state’s civil servants from the American company’s collaboration and productivity tools to open-source alternatives. He has now begun the process of shifting staff from Windows to Linux, an open-source operating system. The move has attracted the attention of public officials elsewhere who are also keen to cut ties with America’s tech giants. “Every week we have questions from other states, other cities and governments inside and outside of Europe,” he says.
The growing interest in open-source software reflects a new geopolitical reality. America has long used its commercial prowess to hurt its enemies, such as imposing sanctions against Iran and Russia. But now even allies worry that it could cut off their access to critical technologies – or at least threaten to during, say, a trade negotiation.
