"They can no longer use e-commerce, book hotels online or hire a car. Their home smart devices ignore them. Credit cards from European banks no longer function, because Europe has still not developed its own EU-wide payments system, so most electronic purchases go through Visa and Mastercard. Converting euros to foreign currencies is extraordinarily difficult because everything passes through dollars. Living in Europe is no protection against Donald Trump bricking your digital life."
"This dependence is not limited to mod-cons. Last year, the chairman of the Danish parliament's defence committee said that he regretted his part in Denmark's decision to buy US-made F-35 fighter jets: I can easily imagine a situation where the USA will demand Greenland from Denmark and will threaten to deactivate our weapons and let Russia attack us when we refuse. Buying American weapons is a security risk that we can not run."
European individuals and institutions face practical disruption when US authorities impose sanctions, disabling e-commerce, online bookings, car rentals, smart devices, and credit-card payments routed through Visa and Mastercard. Currency conversion is constrained by dollar-centric financial flows. Military reliance on US-made weapons like F-35s creates strategic leverage for the United States, including the risk of weapon deactivation in geopolitical disputes. US intelligence collection of European phone calls and phone bugs has exposed surveillance vulnerabilities. Governments, militaries, businesses, healthcare systems, and media depend on US cloud, software, and platform providers for records, communications, and advertising. Europe retains options to pursue greater digital sovereignty by reducing reliance on US enterprise software and platforms.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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