Transatlantic Cooperation on Tech Needs to Overcome "Digital Distrust"
European and US leaders have made a joint tech agenda one of the key priorities for renewing transatlantic partnership. An exclusive survey on behalf of the MSC finds a potential obstacle: high levels of distrust in Europe around digital issues – among Europeans, but especially toward the United States.
Summary
- Progress on a joint tech agenda is a litmus test for the ability of the EU-US partnership to deliver on critical issues.
- European citizens are concerned that they and their personal data are not secure online. They distrust governments and companies from other European countries, but especially the United States and China, when it comes to protecting their data.
- Europeans also worry that their countries are too dependent on foreign suppliers for digital technologies. Many believe that Europe will fall further behind in the competition for technological innovation.
- European leaders need to address their citizens’ security and privacy concerns, both on the European level and within the transatlantic partnership.
At the Munich Security Conference (MSC) Special Edition on February 19, US and European leaders gathered to send a strong signal of transatlantic renewal. On the joint agenda to "build back better," cooperation on technology is one of the key priorities. Against the background of digitalization playing an ever-increasing role in citizens’ lives and a host of policy areas across the Atlantic, setting future standards for digital governance has been a long-held ambition for the transatlantic partners. But is the EU-US tech agenda set up for success?
A new Munich Security Brief "Error 404 – Trust Not Found" aims to help open the transatlantic conversation and shed light on how this issue is viewed by European publics. With the help of Kekst CNC, the MSC surveyed six European countries. Our polling reveals that Europeans’ perspective is dominated by concerns about trust. They fear data theft, fraud, and increasing national dependency on untrustworthy foreign tech companies.
These are three key findings of the Munich Security Brief:
1. The Internet Is a Dangerous Place
Over the last five years, European citizens have become significantly less care-free when using the Internet.
Data: Kekst CNC, commissioned by the Munich Security Conference. Illustration: Munich Security Conference. *General population in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
One reason is that Europeans have severe doubts about the ability or the willingness of governments and companies, especially foreign ones, to keep their data safe. While respondents in some countries already distrust their own governments and companies, the lack of trust is much more pronounced toward the rest of Europe.
Data: Kekst CNC, commissioned by the Munich Security Conference. Illustration: Munich Security Conference. * General population in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Excluding “don’t know” and neutral responses.
2. Deeply Distrusted Partners
As much as Europeans distrust entities from elsewhere in Europe, in some European countries today, US tech giants are dramatized as "mortal threats to the European way of life," as former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt writes. Our polling shows that US tech companies and, even more so, the US government are indeed severely distrusted.
About half of Europeans also think that their countries are too reliant on technology suppliers from abroad, even from other European countries. Overdependence on EU neighbors is seen as a problem by 42 percent of respondents. About half see overdependence on the United States or China as a problem.
Data: Kekst CNC, commissioned by the Munich Security Conference. Illustration: Munich Security Conference. *General population in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
3. Reducing the Trust Deficit
Overall, our survey found Europeans lack confidence in the entities that run and regulate the digital landscape. If Europe and the transatlantic partnership want to successfully cooperate in the digital sphere, they will need to address this trust deficit.
First, Europe needs to get its own digital house in order. The EU and European governments have, so far, not convinced their publics that they can provide trustworthy guardrails to digital technology. Our survey shows that 43 percent of Europeans believe Europe will fall further behind the US and China in terms of tech innovation. In order to prove the opposite, Europe will need to create a fertile environment for innovation in digital tech and cooperate with the US.
Data: Kekst CNC, commissioned by the Munich Security Conference. Illustration: Munich Security Conference. * General population in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Excluding “don’t know” responses.
Second, the transatlantic partners will have to work together to manage this lack of trust on the way to a common digital agenda. A transatlantic tech agenda will need to move beyond professing of common values and include mechanisms that assure the public that they are built on transparency and accountability.
Whether they can do so is a litmus test for the ability of the EU-US partnership to deliver on critical issues of today and tomorrow.
