Event recap “What does Digital Sovereignty mean for civil society?”

ISOC Switzerland Chapter - Friday, April 10, 2026

On March 27th, around 25 people — with another 10 joining online — gathered at the L200 community center to explore a deceptively simple but increasingly urgent question: “What does Digital Sovereignty mean for civil society?”

Together with European experts from academia and civil society, invited to Zurich by the Internet Society Switzerland Chapter (ISOC‑CH), participants set out to unpack a term that is shaping political agendas across the continent.

The discussion began with the observation that the term “Digital Sovereignty” lacks a clear or shared definition — and that this ambiguity is precisely why it matters to shed light on it. Its openness allows governments, corporations, and institutions to project their own interests onto it: from differing national interpretations, to “sovereignty washing” by American Big Tech hyperscalers, to political narratives that obscure industrial policy. Depending on who uses the term and in which context, its meaning shifts across several overlapping — and often competing — dimensions. Understanding these tensions is essential for anyone who wants to follow, influence, or challenge the debate.

The state perspective focuses on the autonomy of the State and public administration, as well as control over infrastructure. It tends to overemphasize centralized decision‑making power. In its extreme form, this perspective can result in an “Internet with Borders,” as observed in China or Russia.
The economic perspective focuses on competitiveness and supply chain risks. If left unchecked — as can currently be observed in the European Union (EU), where neoliberal industrial policy and deregulation are presented as something appealing — it risks undermining individual rights (e.g., privacy rights in the Digital Omnibus proposal of the European Commission) or causing serious detriments to the quality of life for entire neighborhoods.
The user perspective focuses on the agency of individuals, data protection, and fundamental rights. Taken out of context, it can lead to the absurd notion of sovereignty as a product or service.

Despite significant caveats surrounding the “Digital Sovereignty” term, many participants agreed, civil society cannot simply ignore the ongoing political debate in Europe. This raises several questions:

How can we use the current momentum to make our positions heard? – How can we outline a compelling vision that resists state or corporate control over our digital lives?
Can we imagine a future in which sovereignty is understood as collective self‑determination by diverse communities?
How can societies achieve a balance between privacy and free flow of information, between autonomy and a global Internet, in ways that respect democracy, ecology, and public health?
Shall we enter in an arms-race for reproducing the achievements of Big Tech in Europe or invest in the required social infrastructures to reduce addiction and dependence on technology in our everyday lives?

Given the multidimensional nature of “Digital Sovereignty” and the diversity of affected stakeholders, civil society needs a broad set of strategies and arguments — rather than a single response — to effectively advocate for states and businesses to respect digital rights, ensure privacy, provide equitable access to information, and preserve the possibility of analogue participation in society. Independently from the term used to describe these rights, because terms can be appropriated, misused, “washed”.

What might such a toolset look like?

In our discussion, several possible components for it emerged:

Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) as the only type of software that enables users — whether public offices, businesses, educational institutions, or private individuals — to control and adapt technology to their needs without requiring permission from third parties.
Open and Interoperable Standards that connect people and enable broad participation. These standards, and the networks built upon them, must be designed to withstand malicious actors, who will inevitably appear.
Emphasizing the importance of educating citizens and policymakers about technology in two dimensions: (1) how to build and operate it and (2) how to reflect critically on it.
Fostering curiosity about different ways of organizing society, with more decentralisation and greater autonomy for local communities to decide how they want to live together.

We at ISOC‑CH look forward to building and applying this toolset to help shape a more just, open, and human‑centered digital future — in Switzerland, across Europe, and around the globe. The work ahead is challenging, but the momentum is real, and the need for voices from civil society has never been clearer.

More material from this event will be processed and shared soon, together with forthcoming contributions in the context of our event series. The next step will be a workshop at Open Education Day 2026, with a special focus on education — an area where “Digital Sovereignty” becomes more tangible for everyone, because it directly affects how people learn, teach, access knowledge, and participate in society.

We warmly invite you to share your ideas with us and to join the conversation at one of our future events. Your perspectives, questions, and critiques are essential to shaping the digital world we want to live in. Until then, we leave you with a few reading recommendations from our discussion participants:

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