Moving away from technological dependence on the United States

The world is dependent on the United States for everything related to technology. If we don’t react, the United States can put pressure on other countries by removing access to these technologies or disclosing users’ personal data. For example, our smartphones or computers could stop working because of our dependence on Google. Another example is that Microsoft has access to our personal data through the cloud.

Do not purchase or use services that do not comply with European law, which respects workers and the environment.
Employees must be treated in accordance with European law, otherwise these companies are engaging in unfair competition. New technologies offer practical benefits, but the law must be respected. Accepting that workers are not treated with respect means running the risk that those who do respect them will disappear and that these practices will spread to your own workplace. Solidarity means protecting yourself.

It is possible to get out of this dependency on the level of an individual, or on the level of an administration or on the level of a company.

Here are a few recommendations:

– Don’t buy from Amazon. Choose local stores instead.

– Don’t use Uber, choose taxis instead.

– Don’t use Airbnb, choose bed and breakfasts and hotels instead.

– Have your purchases delivered by the post office.

– Don’t use X, Tiktok, Instagram, and Facebook. Choose Mastodon or BlueSky, for example.

– Choose Libre Office instead of Microsoft Office.

– For instant messaging, use Apple Messages, Signal, or Element X instead of WhatsApp.

European Open Source – Element: https://element.io/en/app

– For email, choose Proton or another service (e.g., laposte.net or Infomaniak) governed by European law, rather than Gmail or other email services from non-European countries.

– Choose open source alternatives for storing data. Do not use One Drive or Google Drive.

Self-hosted cloud collaboration platform for home users– Next Cloud: https://nextcloud.com/home-users/

– Choose Linux over Windows.

Choose Linux instead of Windows to revive an old Mac (e.g., Asahi Linux), a very old Mac (e.g., CachyOS), or an old PC (e.g., Mint).

Asahi Linux: https://asahilinux.org/

CachyOS: https://wiki.cachyos.org/installation/installation_t2macbook

Linux Mint 22.3: https://linuxmint.com/

– Don’t feed artificial intelligence: don’t use Chat GPT or Alexa, which listen to all your conversations to create an identity for themselves.

– For businesses, government agencies, working groups, or individuals who want to use artificial intelligence, use an open source model that will run locally instead of in a data center at a large technology company outside Europe. Examples include Mistral and GPT4All. Do not use artificial intelligence unnecessarily: it consumes resources, pollutes, and feeds their intelligence.

Mistral: https://mistral.ai/

GPT4All – Nomic: https://www.nomic.ai/gpt4all

To use AI for your projects on your own hardware rather than in a data center, use Ollama, an open-source tool that allows you to use open-source AI models. It runs locally and is completely autonomous.

Ollama: https://ollama.com/

Deploy LLMs Locally with Ollama: Your Complete Guide to Local AI Development – Medium: https://medium.com/@bluudit/deploy-llms-locally-with-ollama-your-complete-guide-to-local-ai-development-ba60d61b6cea

What is Ollama? Running Local LLMs Made Simple – IBM Technology: https://youtu.be/5RIOQuHOihY?si=1QtRlkySIBfeXVow

Here is the European Alternatives website, which lists all European legal services according to need: email, search engines, web browsers, file hosting services, translators, microblogging, VPN, instant messaging, calendars, photo sharing, etc.

European Alternatives Service Categories – European Alternatives: https://european-alternatives.eu/categories

Leave big tech behind! How to replace Amazon, Google, X, Meta, Apple – and more – The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/feb/26/how-to-replace-amazon-google-x-meta-apple-alternatives

Ophélie Coelho, chercheuse au CNRS – CNRS: https://cis.cnrs.fr/ophelie-coelho

Interview d’Ophélie Coelho, chercheuse en géopolitique du numérique – RTS: https://www.rts.ch/play/tv/linvite-e-de-la-matinale/video/ophelie-coelho-chercheuse-en-geopolitique-du-numerique?urn=urn:rts:video:903ddfc4-f7e7-3a8b-a036-95cd39c62a4a

Son livre: Géopolitique du numérique – L’impéralisme à pas de géants par Ophélie Coelho – Chercheuse associée à l’IRIS, doctorante CIS (CNRS)/Carism (Paris-Assas)- IRIS: https://www.iris-france.org/produit/geopolitique-du-numerique-limperalisme-a-pas-de-geants

Understanding techno-neocolonialism – Université de Limoges – TraHs: https://www.unilim.fr/trahs/6382#tocto1n2

Quit ChatGPT: right now! Your subscription is bankrolling authoritarianism –
Rutger Bregman – The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/04/quit-chatgpt-subscription-boycott-silicon-valley

Pourquoi des utilisateurs fuient Chat GPT ? – Un monde nouveau – France Inter: https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/podcasts/un-monde-nouveau/un-monde-nouveau-du-mercredi-04-mars-2026-1277533

Full interview: Anthropic CEO responds to Trump order, Pentagon clash – CBS News: https://youtu.be/MPTNHrq_4LU?si=tbv8WBBGPSw7-zlQ