Tension grandissante entre Trump et l’Europe, explications

GAFAM refers to Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft. These companies have become structurally present throughout the digital world through search engines, devices, applications, and cloud infrastructure hosting a major portion of the internet.

• 70% of Europe's cloud market is dominated by three US actors: Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud • 80% of European cloud and professional software spending goes to US companies • European companies have virtually no alternatives to Microsoft or Apple ecosystems

European Union enterprises spend 264 billion euros annually on cloud services and software from US providers, with France alone spending 54 billion euros per year.

These companies collect billions of data points ranging from user locations to interests, which are susceptible to being resold.

Europe's massive dependency on US digital services creates a structural weakness. France and the EU could be deprived of essential services, potentially halting countries' operations.

• Amazon AWS experienced a major outage last year lasting several hours • Instagram, Airbnb, streaming services, online banks, and parts of the global internet were blocked or slowed • This resulted in significant economic losses and direct disruption to daily life

European officials and experts fear Trump could use this dependency as leverage in case of major political disagreement, potentially demanding GAFAM restrict or completely block EU access to their services.

Such sanctions would be risky for GAFAM as they could lose colossal sums. The EU could retaliate with counter-sanctions, taxes, and market restrictions against US companies.

Several International Criminal Court judges were sanctioned by the Trump administration after issuing arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accused of war crimes.

• French judge Nicolas Guillou cannot enter US territory • US companies and their foreign subsidiaries are forbidden from providing him services • He can no longer use Visa or Mastercard, systems with near-monopoly in Europe • His accounts with Amazon, Airbnb, PayPal, and other US companies are closed

Judge Guillou stated he lives as if in the 1990s, having digitally disconnected much of his life due to these restrictions.

Guillou met with two European commissioners requesting a shield of European services to protect Europeans from such measures and to develop a European digital ecosystem reducing US dependence.

An increasing number of voices call for policies creating European actors capable of competing with or providing credible alternatives to GAFAM. However, existing European alternatives remain minority and underutilized.

• Experts emphasize that while developing European tech is expensive, it should be viewed as strategic investments rather than expenses • Governments and companies should redirect spending toward European enterprises and startups • This would develop a European ecosystem potentially more aligned with European norms and values

European companies would be more easily regulable and subject to European standards and values compared to US-based multinational corporations.

This challenge extends to artificial intelligence where the question of technological sovereignty and control becomes crucial for Europe's future independence.