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A European Survey on Digital (Dis)trust
A joint tech agenda is one of the key priorities of a renewed transatlantic partnership. However, an exclusive survey on behalf of the Munich Security Conference points to a potential obstacle: high levels of distrust in Europe around digital issues – among Europeans, but especially toward the United States. Our latest Munich Security Brief explains what digital distrust means and how to address it on the way to better transatlantic tech cooperation.
At the MSC Special Edition on February 19, leaders from the United States and Europe gathered to send a strong signal of transatlantic renewal in front of millions of viewers worldwide. On their agenda for jointly “building back better,” cooperation ontechnology has emerged as a key priority.
However, there is a substantial hurdle: As an exclusive survey conducted in six European countries in early 2021 shows, most Europeans think their governments are not doing enough to protect them in the digital world. They are deeply concerned that they and their personal data are not safe online. What is more, they worry that their countries are too dependent on foreign suppliers of digital technologies. Respondents harbor a “digital distrust” toward governments and companies from other European countries – a distrust that is even more pronounced when looking across the Atlantic. Most respondents believe data stored by US entities is not secure and find their countries to be too dependent on US technology. Vis-à-vis China, such concerns are even more pronounced.
European leaders need to address this “digital distrust” – at home and toward the United States. Failing to do so might threaten progress on the transatlantic tech agenda and put a dent into ambitions of the European Union as a “regulatory superpower.” Yet, the survey also reveals a silver lining: European leaders have a clear mandate to act on the issues that concern their citizens. If they succeed in doing so, they can make substantial progress toward shared democratic technology governance.
Munich Security Briefs
With its Munich Security Briefs, the MSC aims at contributing to ongoing debates on a particular issue within the broad field of international security. A much more concise format than the Munich Security Report, the briefs are meant to provide an overview of an issue or a read-out of a particular MSC event as well as a succinct analysis of its policy implications and strategic consequences. They generally express the opinion of their author(s) rather than any position of the Munich Security Conference.
This Munich Security Brief serves as a discussion starter for working towards transatlantic digital trust. It is part of the MSC’s Road to Munich campaign, which aims to highlight key items on the agenda for renewing transatlantic cooperation.
