- Joined
- Sep 19, 2018
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- 9,725
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- Joined SLU
- 02-22-2008
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So obviously nobody needs to be told what the situation is about to be like in a couple of months, and this time there's a very real possibility that some actively privacy- and consumer-hostile elements will be placed in direct personal control of US tech policy, and there are little or no protections in place to check them. The last decade has I guess made shockingly clear that astonishing amount of restrictions, checks, and balances in US governance are basically gentlemen's agreements that depended on politicians' fear of public outrage to enforce them, and just completely shrivel up and disappear into wind when "contrarian troll" becomes the political identity of half the public.
Thing is, US-based tech corporations control a whole lot of the internet - I would say, most web services by far. You probably use one or more of them, and maybe it's a good idea to consider changing? For work or whatever you have to use what your work uses; but if you use any of these personally, or otherwise have a choice, there ARE alternatives you can switch to for your own security and peace of mind.
HERE is a website listing EU-based alternatives to common US-based web services. Everything from enterprise-facing to consumer-facing. Just click the service and get the list of alternates.
Keep in mind these are NOT necessarily F/LOSS services; read the descriptions and then the services' own websites carefully, and you'll still be paying subscriptions for some of these. Also, while consumer and privacy protections in the EU are more robust on the whole than those in the US, you shouldn't automatically assume that's true in every single possible case so it helps as always to be informed about whatever your rights are for whatever you're doing, and about how these services intend or are allowed to use your data.
Using alternatives to things like Google and Amazon and Microsoft WILL mean going without certain features or conveniences. Can't really deny or avoid that. All I can say is that you CAN get used to living without them, and it's undeniably better for your privacy and digital health.
Thing is, US-based tech corporations control a whole lot of the internet - I would say, most web services by far. You probably use one or more of them, and maybe it's a good idea to consider changing? For work or whatever you have to use what your work uses; but if you use any of these personally, or otherwise have a choice, there ARE alternatives you can switch to for your own security and peace of mind.
HERE is a website listing EU-based alternatives to common US-based web services. Everything from enterprise-facing to consumer-facing. Just click the service and get the list of alternates.
Keep in mind these are NOT necessarily F/LOSS services; read the descriptions and then the services' own websites carefully, and you'll still be paying subscriptions for some of these. Also, while consumer and privacy protections in the EU are more robust on the whole than those in the US, you shouldn't automatically assume that's true in every single possible case so it helps as always to be informed about whatever your rights are for whatever you're doing, and about how these services intend or are allowed to use your data.
Using alternatives to things like Google and Amazon and Microsoft WILL mean going without certain features or conveniences. Can't really deny or avoid that. All I can say is that you CAN get used to living without them, and it's undeniably better for your privacy and digital health.
