Latest news with #digitalServices
CNA
10 hours ago
- Business
- CNA
Europeans seek 'digital sovereignty' as US tech firms embrace Trump
BERLIN :At a market stall in Berlin run by charity Topio, volunteers help people who want to purge their phones of the influence of U.S. tech firms. Since Donald Trump's inauguration, the queue for their services has grown. Interest in European-based digital services has jumped in recent months, data from digital market intelligence company Similarweb shows. More people are looking for e-mail, messaging and even search providers outside the United States. The first months of Trump's second presidency have shaken some Europeans' confidence in their long-time ally, after he signalled his country would step back from its role in Europe's security and then launched a trade war. "It's about the concentration of power in U.S. firms," said Topio's founder Michael Wirths, as his colleague installed on a customer's phone a version of the Android operating system without hooks into the Google ecosystem. Wirths said the type of people coming to the stall had changed: "Before, it was people who knew a lot about data privacy. Now it's people who are politically aware and feel exposed." Tesla chief Elon Musk, who also owns social media company X, was a leading adviser to the U.S. president before the two fell out, while the bosses of Amazon, Meta and Google-owner Alphabet took prominent spots at Trump's inauguration in January. Days before Trump took office, outgoing president Joe Biden had warned of an oligarchic "tech industrial complex" threatening democracy. Berlin-based search engine Ecosia says it has benefited from some customers' desire to avoid U.S. counterparts like Microsoft's Bing or Google, which dominates web searches and is also the world's biggest email provider. "The worse it gets, the better it is for us," founder Christian Kroll said of Ecosia, whose sales pitch is that it spends its profits on environmental projects. Similarweb data shows the number of queries directed to Ecosia from the European Union has risen 27 per cent year-on-year and the company says it has 1 per cent of the German search engine market. But its 122 million visits from the 27 EU countries in February were dwarfed by 10.3 billion visits to Google, whose parent Alphabet made revenues of about $100 billion from Europe, the Middle East and Africa in 2024 - nearly a third of its $350 billion global turnover. Non-profit Ecosia earned 3.2 million euros ($3.65 million) in April, of which 770,000 euros was spent on planting 1.1 million trees. Google declined to comment for this story. Reuters could not determine whether major U.S. tech companies have lost any market share to local rivals in Europe. DIGITAL SOVEREIGNTY The search for alternative providers accompanies a debate in Europe about "digital sovereignty" - the idea that reliance on companies from an increasingly isolationist United States is a threat to Europe's economy and security. "Ordinary people, the kind of people who would never have thought it was important they were using an American service are saying, 'hang on!'," said UK-based internet regulation expert Maria Farrell. "My hairdresser was asking me what she should switch to." Use in Europe of Swiss-based ProtonMail rose 11.7 per cent year-on-year to March compared to a year ago, according to Similarweb, while use of Alphabet's Gmail, which has some 70 per cent of the global email market, slipped 1.9 per cent. ProtonMail, which offers both free and paid-for services, said it had seen an increase in users from Europe since Trump's re-election, though it declined to give a number. "My household is definitely disengaging," said British software engineer Ken Tindell, citing weak U.S. data privacy protections as one factor. Trump's vice president JD Vance shocked European leaders in February by accusing them - at a conference usually known for displays of transatlantic unity - of censoring free speech and failing to control immigration. In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio threatened visa bans for people who "censor" speech by Americans, including on social media, and suggested the policy could target foreign officials regulating U.S. tech companies. U.S. social media companies like Facebook and Instagram parent Meta have said the European Union's Digital Services Act amounts to censorship of their platforms. EU officials say the Act will make the online environment safer by compelling tech giants to tackle illegal content, including hate speech and child sexual abuse material. Greg Nojeim, director of the Security and Surveillance Project at the Center for Democracy & Technology, said Europeans' concerns about the U.S. government accessing their data, whether stored on devices or in the cloud, were justified. Not only does U.S. law permit the government to search devices of anyone entering the country, it can compel disclosure of data that Europeans outside the U.S. store or transmit through U.S. communications service providers, Nojeim said. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE? Germany's new government is itself making efforts to reduce exposure to U.S. tech, committing in its coalition agreement to make more use of open-source data formats and locally-based cloud infrastructure. Regional governments have gone further - in conservative-run Schleswig-Holstein, on the Danish border, all IT used by the public administration must run on open-source software. Berlin has also paid for Ukraine to access a satellite-internet network operated by France's Eutelsat instead of Musk's Starlink. But with modern life driven by technology, "completely divorcing U.S. tech in a very fundamental way is, I would say, possibly not possible," said Bill Budington of U.S. digital rights nonprofit the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Everything from push notifications to the content delivery networks powering many websites and how internet traffic is routed relies largely on U.S. companies and infrastructure, Budington noted. Both Ecosia and French-based search engine Qwant depend in part on search results provided by Google and Microsoft's Bing, while Ecosia runs on cloud platforms, some hosted by the very same tech giants it promises an escape from. Nevertheless, a group on messaging board Reddit called BuyFromEU has 211,000 members. "Just cancelled my Dropbox and will switch to Proton Drive," read one post. Mastodon, a decentralised social media service developed by German programmer Eugen Rochko, enjoyed a rush of new users two years ago when Musk bought Twitter, later renamed X. But it remains a niche service. Signal, a messaging app run by a U.S. nonprofit foundation, has also seen a surge in installations from Europe. Similarweb's data showed a 7 per cent month-on-month increase in Signal usage in March, while use of Meta's WhatsApp was static. Meta declined to comment for this story. Signal did not respond to an e-mailed request for comment. But this kind of conscious self-organising is unlikely on its own to make a dent in Silicon Valley's European dominance, digital rights activist Robin Berjon told Reuters. "The market is too captured," he said. "Regulation is needed as well."
Reuters
10 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Europeans seek 'digital sovereignty' as US tech firms embrace Trump
BERLIN, June 21 (Reuters) - At a market stall in Berlin run by charity Topio, volunteers help people who want to purge their phones of the influence of U.S. tech firms. Since Donald Trump's inauguration, the queue for their services has grown. Interest in European-based digital services has jumped in recent months, data from digital market intelligence company Similarweb shows. More people are looking for e-mail, messaging and even search providers outside the United States. The first months of Trump's second presidency have shaken some Europeans' confidence in their long-time ally, after he signalled his country would step back from its role in Europe's security and then launched a trade war. "It's about the concentration of power in U.S. firms," said Topio's founder Michael Wirths, as his colleague installed on a customer's phone a version of the Android operating system without hooks into the Google ecosystem. Wirths said the type of people coming to the stall had changed: "Before, it was people who knew a lot about data privacy. Now it's people who are politically aware and feel exposed." Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab chief Elon Musk, who also owns social media company X, was a leading adviser to the U.S. president before the two fell out, while the bosses of Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab, Meta (META.O), opens new tab and Google-owner Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab took prominent spots at Trump's inauguration in January. Days before Trump took office, outgoing president Joe Biden had warned of an oligarchic "tech industrial complex" threatening democracy. Berlin-based search engine Ecosia says it has benefited from some customers' desire to avoid U.S. counterparts like Microsoft's (MSFT.O), opens new tab Bing or Google, which dominates web searches and is also the world's biggest email provider. "The worse it gets, the better it is for us," founder Christian Kroll said of Ecosia, whose sales pitch is that it spends its profits on environmental projects. Similarweb data shows the number of queries directed to Ecosia, opens new tab from the European Union has risen 27% year-on-year and the company says it has 1% of the German search engine market. But its 122 million visits from the 27 EU countries in February were dwarfed by 10.3 billion visits to Google, whose parent Alphabet made revenues of about $100 billion from Europe, the Middle East and Africa in 2024 - nearly a third of its $350 billion global turnover. Non-profit Ecosia earned 3.2 million euros ($3.65 million) in April, of which 770,000 euros was spent on planting 1.1 million trees. Google declined to comment for this story. Reuters could not determine whether major U.S. tech companies have lost any market share to local rivals in Europe. The search for alternative providers accompanies a debate in Europe about "digital sovereignty" - the idea that reliance on companies from an increasingly isolationist United States is a threat to Europe's economy and security. "Ordinary people, the kind of people who would never have thought it was important they were using an American service are saying, 'hang on!'," said UK-based internet regulation expert Maria Farrell. "My hairdresser was asking me what she should switch to." Use in Europe of Swiss-based ProtonMail rose 11.7% year-on-year to March compared to a year ago, according to Similarweb, while use of Alphabet's Gmail, which has some 70% of the global email market, slipped 1.9%. ProtonMail, which offers both free and paid-for services, said it had seen an increase in users from Europe since Trump's re-election, though it declined to give a number. "My household is definitely disengaging," said British software engineer Ken Tindell, citing weak U.S. data privacy protections as one factor. Trump's vice president JD Vance shocked European leaders in February by accusing them - at a conference usually known for displays of transatlantic unity - of censoring free speech and failing to control immigration. In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio threatened visa bans for people who "censor" speech by Americans, including on social media, and suggested the policy could target foreign officials regulating U.S. tech companies. U.S. social media companies like Facebook and Instagram parent Meta have said the European Union's Digital Services Act amounts to censorship of their platforms. EU officials say the Act will make the online environment safer by compelling tech giants to tackle illegal content, including hate speech and child sexual abuse material. Greg Nojeim, director of the Security and Surveillance Project at the Center for Democracy & Technology, said Europeans' concerns about the U.S. government accessing their data, whether stored on devices or in the cloud, were justified. Not only does U.S. law permit the government to search devices of anyone entering the country, it can compel disclosure of data that Europeans outside the U.S. store or transmit through U.S. communications service providers, Nojeim said. Germany's new government is itself making efforts to reduce exposure to U.S. tech, committing in its coalition agreement to make more use of open-source data formats and locally-based cloud infrastructure. Regional governments have gone further - in conservative-run Schleswig-Holstein, on the Danish border, all IT used by the public administration must run on open-source software. Berlin has also paid for Ukraine to access a satellite-internet network operated by France's Eutelsat ( opens new tab instead of Musk's Starlink. But with modern life driven by technology, "completely divorcing U.S. tech in a very fundamental way is, I would say, possibly not possible," said Bill Budington of U.S. digital rights nonprofit the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Everything from push notifications to the content delivery networks powering many websites and how internet traffic is routed relies largely on U.S. companies and infrastructure, Budington noted. Both Ecosia and French-based search engine Qwant depend in part on search results provided by Google and Microsoft's Bing, while Ecosia runs on cloud platforms, some hosted by the very same tech giants it promises an escape from. Nevertheless, a group on messaging board Reddit called BuyFromEU has 211,000 members. "Just cancelled my Dropbox and will switch to Proton Drive," read one post. Mastodon, a decentralised social media service developed by German programmer Eugen Rochko, enjoyed a rush of new users two years ago when Musk bought Twitter, later renamed X. But it remains a niche service. Signal, a messaging app run by a U.S. nonprofit foundation, has also seen a surge in installations from Europe. Similarweb's data showed a 7% month-on-month increase in Signal usage in March, while use of Meta's WhatsApp was static. Meta declined to comment for this story. Signal did not respond to an e-mailed request for comment. But this kind of conscious self-organising is unlikely on its own to make a dent in Silicon Valley's European dominance, digital rights activist Robin Berjon told Reuters. "The market is too captured," he said. "Regulation is needed as well."
Sustainability Times
5 days ago
- Sustainability Times
'This Coding Trick Cuts 30% of Power Use': Data Centers Worldwide Could Be Transformed by This Shockingly Simple Energy Hack
IN A NUTSHELL 🔋 Data centers are vital to digital services but are notorious for their high energy consumption . are vital to digital services but are notorious for their high . 💡 Researchers from the University of Waterloo discovered that modifying just 30 lines of code in the Linux kernel can cut energy use by 30 to 45%. can cut energy use by 30 to 45%. ⚙️ The modification improves network efficiency by reducing unnecessary processor interruptions, maintaining low latency during low-traffic periods. 🌍 This open-source solution, now included in Linux kernel version 6.13, could lead to widespread adoption and significant environmental benefits. Data centers serve as the backbone of our digital world, supporting everything from social media to online banking. However, these essential facilities are also notorious for their colossal energy consumption. Recent findings by researchers from the University of Waterloo suggest a surprisingly simple solution: adjusting a few lines of code could significantly cut energy use. This revelation could revolutionize the way data centers operate, offering both environmental and economic benefits. The Hidden Energy Cost of Data Centers Data centers are often described as the digital world's unseen workhorses. They power the internet and its myriad services, consuming vast amounts of energy in the process. As the demand for digital services climbs, so does the energy footprint of these centers. The massive energy consumption is mainly due to the constant operation of servers, cooling systems, and other infrastructure. This not only impacts the environment but also represents a significant operational cost for companies. One of the primary concerns is the heat generated by servers, which necessitates robust cooling systems. These systems, while essential, add to the overall energy demand. With energy prices rising and sustainability becoming a global priority, there is an urgent need for innovative solutions. The simple coding modification proposed by the University of Waterloo researchers could be a game-changer, offering a practical approach to reducing energy consumption without compromising performance. 'Nuclear First Just Happened': World's Largest Stellarator Produces Helium-3 in Unprecedented Breakthrough That Could Power Future Civilizations A Revolutionary Coding Tweak The research team from the University of Waterloo has identified a potential remedy for the energy woes of data centers. By modifying just 30 lines of code within the Linux kernel's protocol stack, energy consumption could be reduced by 30 to 45 percent. This is a significant breakthrough, considering that Linux is the operating system of choice for most global data centers. The Linux kernel acts as the core interface between a computer's hardware and its processes, and optimizing its efficiency can lead to substantial energy savings. The modification involves reorganizing operations within the Linux network protocol stack to enhance efficiency. This approach improves network performance by reducing unnecessary processor interruptions during high-traffic periods. As a result, it maintains low latency during quieter times, thereby reducing overall energy use. This innovative solution exemplifies how small changes in code can have a profound impact on energy efficiency. 'China Just Landed This in the Ocean': Reusable Rocket Test Sparks Panic Over America's Waning Space Supremacy Testing and Implementation The researchers didn't stop at theorization; they tested their solution in real-world scenarios. Following successful trials, the modified code was submitted to the Linux community and is now part of the latest kernel release, version 6.13. This development not only underscores the practical viability of the solution but also its potential for widespread adoption. As Linux is open-source, the new code is available for anyone to implement, fostering a collaborative effort toward energy efficiency. The adoption of this modification could lead to a ripple effect across industries, as companies seek to lower operational costs and meet sustainability targets. The open-source nature of Linux ensures that these improvements can be quickly disseminated, allowing for rapid implementation and adoption globally. This could be a pivotal moment for data centers worldwide, as they strive to balance performance with environmental responsibility. 'China Builds 40-Story Giants': These Gravity Batteries Could Crush Lithium's Dominance and Trigger a Global Energy Power Shift Looking Toward a Sustainable Future The implications of this research extend beyond immediate energy savings. By demonstrating the potential of software optimization to reduce energy use, the study opens the door for further innovations in data center management. As technology evolves, so too will the strategies for achieving sustainability in the digital realm. This approach could inspire other sectors to explore similar methods for reducing their environmental impact. The journey toward sustainable data centers is ongoing, and this breakthrough is a significant step in the right direction. As companies and consumers become more conscious of their environmental footprint, the demand for efficient and sustainable technological solutions will only increase. The question remains: how will other industries harness the power of coding to create a more sustainable future? Our author used artificial intelligence to enhance this article. Did you like it? 4.5/5 (28)
Entrepreneur
07-06-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Nandan Nilekani Increases Support to AI4Bharat with Total Grant of INR 70 Crore
In a statement, Nilekani said AI4Bharat is creating essential language infrastructure that enables Indian citizens to access digital services in their native languages You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Infosys Co-founder and Chairman Nandan Nilekani has committed an additional multi-year grant to AI4Bharat, a public-focused artificial intelligence (AI) initiative at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, bringing his total funding to INR 70 crore. The announcement was made by the EkStep Foundation, which supports digital infrastructure and learning initiatives. AI4Bharat works on building foundational AI models aimed at improving accessibility to digital services in India's 22 scheduled languages. The initiative has focused on developing speech and translation datasets, including the collection of 15,000 hours of transcribed speech from over 400 districts and the creation of a bilingual corpus comprising 2.2 million translation pairs. These are curated by a team of more than 100 language experts. The latest funding comes directly from Nilekani and follows his earlier contribution in 2022, which led to the establishment of the Nilekani Centre at AI4Bharat. The initiative's models have been released as open-source public goods and are hosted on AI4Bharat's platform and AIKosh, India's open AI repository. In a statement, Nilekani said AI4Bharat is creating essential language infrastructure that enables Indian citizens to access digital services in their native languages. He also remarked on India's potential to emerge as a global leader in AI applications by leveraging its existing digital public infrastructure. Since the global release of ChatGPT in 2022, AI4Bharat's language models have seen increased adoption across sectors. These models are now integrated into tools for regional language chatbots, as well as education and governance platforms. AI4Bharat's work forms the language layer of India's AI stack and is used in Bhashini, the national language translation initiative under the IndiaAI Mission. Bhashini supports multilingual digital access in public service areas such as healthcare, finance, and governance, utilising AI4Bharat's open models in speech recognition, machine translation, and text-to-speech technologies. The project continues to operate within an open-source framework, contributing data and tools intended for public use in India's evolving AI ecosystem.
Reuters
28-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Singapore's CapitaLand Ascendas REIT to buy two properties for $543.6 million
May 28 (Reuters) - Singapore's CapitaLand Ascendas REIT ( opens new tab said on Wednesday it will acquire a data centre and a premium business park property in the city-state for a combined S$700.2 million ($543.63 million). The REIT said the acquisitions will increase the value of its Singapore portfolio by 6% to approximately S$11.7 billion. Both properties are fully leased to "reputable tenants", the company added, guaranteeing stable and predictable income streams. The data centre is being acquired at a 2.2% discount to its average independent market valuation as of May 15, while the business park asset is being bought at a 7% discount to its assessed value. Investor appetite for data centre assets has surged in recent years, driven by the exponential growth in digital services, cloud computing and AI-related infrastructure needs, which promise long-term rental stability and strong yield potential. With this deal, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT's total property count will rise to 232, including 98 assets in Singapore. ($1 = 1.2880 Singapore dollars)
