Leave American Big Tech Behind

Published by Stephen Milward in Science And Technology · Thursday 26 Feb 2026 · 3 minutes
Tags: Leave, Big, Tech, alternatives, to, Big, Tech, digital, privacy, tech, independence, decentralised, technology, online, freedom, ethical, tech, digital, sovereignty, tech, alternatives, privacy, solutions

I, like millions of other people, am in the Microsoft, Amazon, Google ecospheres. I've been there for years if not decades. Opening Microsoft Office, searching with Google, shopping with Amazon is so easy and commonplace. But as we all know, there are costs to this convenience. Financial, ethical, privacy, political and environmental costs can be hidden away from the immediate gaze and scrutiny of the user. Should we be looking for alternatives to the tech giants?

Well, yes we should. The Guardian published an article today (i) giving alternatives to the giants in areas such as Search, Browser, Email, Office Tools and more. Some of the alternatives are free and open source, some are a reaction to the growth of AI, some have an ethical dimension (tree planting) but I find the most interesting motivation for the growth of alternatives is political, a move away from dependence on American companies for technologies, to European ones who benefit at this time from a more stable political leadership.

The big tech companies have some serious questions to answer. Why do the CEO's of these companies bend the knee to Trump and his authoritarian political world? Their links to the Trump regime taint not only them as individuals, but more seriously their companies. Cosy up to an authoritarian anti-democratic liar and there's going to be a cost for that. I don't have Facebook or X accounts, since I believe Zuckerberg and Musk to be absolutely horrendous people. Believe me, I haven't missed them.

Another example is the question of Microsoft's relationship to the Israeli state, including the implication of surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank (which the Israelis illegally occupies). Microsoft denies this, but I can say that, as a Microsoft Certified Professional, I'm totally disgusted and ashamed by this. On 25 September 2025, Microsoft published a blog post from Brad Smith, replying to Guardian allegations of 06 August 2025 regarding links to the IDF (ii).

This is an opportunity for European tech companies to reach out to users with viable alternatives to the standard applications. Individuals and governments can create a new environment, cutting the dependence on American companies, building software that doesn't spy on the population, has better privacy and an involvement of users in the creation and distribution of applications.

It starts with a willingness to encompass change, even when that's difficult. I'm very seriously looking into how I can lessen my software ties to the Americans. I encourage you to do the same. If we all did that, perhaps they will sit up and take notice when their obscene profits start to slide.

27 February 2026: The BBC reports that thousands of jobs are being cut by American tech companies, because, they say, of the growing use of AI (iii). The companies' capitalist requirement for profits over any other factor, including the welfare of people, must be challenged by reducing our perceived need for their over-priced and intrusive services.

(i) The Guardian 26 February 2026: Leave big tech behind! How to replace Amazon, Google, X, Meta, Apple – and more

(ii) Brad Smith 25 September 2025: Update on ongoing Microsoft review

(iii) BBC News Website 27 February 2026: Jack Dorsey's Block cuts thousands of jobs as it embraces AI