AUTONOMY
RISKS
SOVEREIGNTY
What really lies behind the word “sovereignty”?
It means being autonomous, free to make one’s own choices, deciding by oneself for oneself.
Data sovereignty, digital sovereignty… What really lies behind the word “sovereignty”?
Sovereignty has become a word with a thousand meanings. Depending on the context, it does not mean the same thing.
Take food sovereignty, for example. Most people understood it as food self-sufficiency.
Yet in national policy, food sovereignty means being able to export cereals in order to gain influence, extra leverage in international relations.
So what does being sovereign mean?
It means being autonomous, free to make one’s own choices, deciding by oneself for oneself. Naturally, the more things you know how to do, the freer you are.
And when we talk about digital sovereignty, it means making sure we always have a choice.
An open-source solution may seem the ideal choice, but that is not always the case. Is a US private company actively developing the solution a good bet? Is an open-source solution whose management is entrusted to a company, without asking what that means for sovereignty, a satisfactory solution?
You might think it only happens to others, but the case of Nicolas Guillou proves otherwise. His only fault? Being a judge at the International Criminal Court and handing down a ruling contrary to the wishes of the United States.
As a result, being under US sanctions, he cannot use any US bank card or service, directly or indirectly. He has lost a good part of his autonomy.
For critical infrastructures and solutions, losing autonomy is not desirable. Guarding against it requires knowing the technological, geopolitical, ethical and resource risks, in order to then reduce the risks, but also diversify the risks.
Points we take very much to heart at France-IX!
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