Verified source report
Europe is starting to break up with US big tech. But it’s still abiding by the Silicon Valley rulebook | Max von Thun
The European Commission has unveiled its plans for digital sovereignty. Its proposals betray a disappointing lack of vision Beti Hohler is a Slovenian national who lives in the Netherlands. Like tens of millions of other Europeans, she uses Apple’s app store and has an Amazon account. When she travels for work or leisure, she may want to book a place on Airbnb or Booking, using a credit card issued by Visa or Mastercard, perhaps through PayPal. But when the Trump administration sanctioned her last year for her work as a judge at the international criminal court (ICC), her ability to use any of these services vanished overnight. Her credit cards, her accounts with US companies – all gone. The sanctions against Hohler and some of her colleagues mean they live in “constant uncertainty”, she said. Max von Thun is the director of Open Markets Institute Europe, an anti-monopoly thinktank Conti
What happened
According to The Guardian’s source item, Europe is starting to break up with US big tech. But it’s still abiding by the Silicon Valley rulebook | Max von Thun, The European Commission has unveiled its plans for digital sovereignty. Its proposals betray a disappointing lack of vision Beti Hohler is a Slovenian national who lives in the Netherlands. Like tens of millions of other Europeans, she uses Apple’s app store and has an Amazon account. When she travels for work or leisure, she may want to book a place on Airbnb or Booking, using a credit card issued by Visa or Mastercard, perhaps through PayPal. But when the Trump administration sanctioned her last year for her work as a judge at the international criminal court (ICC), her ability to use any of these services vanished overnight. Her credit cards, her accounts with US companies – all gone. The sanctions against Hohler and some of her colleagues mean they live in “constant uncertainty”, she said. Max von Thun is the director of Open Markets Institute Europe, an anti-monopoly thinktank Conti
Context
The development sits in VINI’s Bay Area file for local readers tracking public services, civic decisions, transportation, housing, safety, and community life across the Bay Area. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-06-15T04:00:03+00:00.
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Source
Primary source: Europe is starting to break up with US big tech. But it’s still abiding by the Silicon Valley rulebook | Max von Thun via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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Source links
- Europe is starting to break up with US big tech. But it’s still abiding by the Silicon Valley rulebook | Max von ThunThe Guardian - 2026-06-15T04:00:03+00:00
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