The City of Smiles wants to be independent of the tech giants: “These are business models we cannot mirror ourselves in”

A new digital direction is emerging in Aarhus Municipality to reduce dependence on global tech giants and make room for alternative, European solutions. Now, the first steps are being taken towards a strategy that can inspire the rest of Denmark.

“It’s something that is particularly important right now because of the geopolitical situation surrounding the importance and influence of tech giants,” Lone Juric Sørensen, Head of Shared IT and Digitization in Aarhus Municipality to TV2 Østjylland.

She continues:

“And we want to make sure that the data we make available is only used for what we originally gave permission for. So some of the big IT companies may have business models that we can’t mirror.”

In Aarhus Municipality, the desire to break the dependence on tech giants has become a strategic priority. The municipality wants to create more flexibility in its IT solutions, reduce vulnerability and make technological choices based on its own values and data security.

As part of the effort, the municipality has already replaced an American IT supplier with a German one in one of its departments. Now they want to go one step further. A budget proposal has been sent to the city council to allocate funds to analyze what it takes to begin a gradual exit from the biggest tech players.

Minister working on long-term plan

At the same time, concerns are growing about how big tech companies use the data they gain access to through public contracts. There is a particular focus on the risk of data being used for marketing, AI development or resale, putting municipalities in a value dilemma where citizens’ data can be used to support commercial interests outside of Denmark’s control.

There is political support for a more independent public IT structure. The Minister for Digitalization has previously acknowledged that the dominance of a few foreign players poses both a democratic and competitive problem. A national strategy is being developed, and experience from municipal initiatives such as Aarhus’ will be of great importance here.

“I don’t have a goal that we should never, ever use any technology that comes from outside of Europe. But we must have the option not to. And that’s what we don’t have today,” says Minister of Digitization Caroline Stage Olsen to TV2 Østjylland.

The long-term ambition is to build a more robust and self-determined digital infrastructure in the public sector, where data sovereignty, European alternatives and flexible technology take priority over fast, global standard solutions.

Indlægget The City of Smiles wants to be independent of the tech giants: “These are business models we cannot mirror ourselves in” blev først udgivet på TechSavvy.