A collective media boycott in Denmark marks the most visible front in a broader uprising defending 'digital sovereignty.' Across the Scandinavian nation of six million people, from classrooms where students train on Chromebooks to Denmark's backend servers, fierce reactions against American tech penetration are escalating. In a country that once prided itself on being a pioneer in technology and the digital realm, the mood has shifted from enthusiasm to challenge.
'Tech Sovereignty' 'We were very happy with the United States,' said Pernel Tranberg, director of the Data Ethics research center. She added, 'We know the language, we watch all American movies.' Tranberg noted that even before Trump, things were changing, and Denmark has inadvertently become a global testing ground for the concept of 'tech sovereignty.' As one of the world's most digitally advanced societies, Denmark's attempt to break away from 'Silicon Valley' serves as a harbinger of conflicts awaiting the rest of the European Union. Facing financial difficulties for Danish media outlets while the U.S. giants thrive, this 'battle' appears uneven. The outcome of this experiment will answer a critical question for the continent: can a small country effectively resist the world's largest corporations, or will the cost of resistance, including lost revenue and digital isolation, force it to capitulate?
The Resistance Begins The resistance began with a specific fear that major tech companies would eliminate publishers one by one, destroying local media. In response, Danish media organized into unions. The Danish Media Collective Rights Management was founded in 2021 and now represents, as its CEO Karen Rondy puts it, 'a mandate for 99% of the entire industry.' Rondy stated, 'Although this alliance is fragile, it is comprehensive, spanning from small digital startups and specialized magazines to public broadcasters.' She added, 'We knew very well that Denmark is a small country, and if we wanted a chance, we had to stay united.'
Ownership of Information Rondy pointed out that all public broadcasters and private media were in the same trench, a move fraught with professional and legal risks. Describing what she called Google's 'divide and conquer' strategy, Rondy said, 'There was some distrust between old and new media, but the alternative was worse, as we feared Google would come and start fragmenting our industry.' She clarified that the stakes are existential; it's no longer just a commercial dispute over copyright fees but a battle for ownership of information in this European country. 'The interest here is not just about fair compensation; ultimately, it's about democracy and press freedom,' Rondi continued.
The Agreement Meanwhile, a Google spokesperson, who wished to remain anonymous, reported that a provisional agreement was signed with the Danish Media Collective Rights Management in 2023, allowing publishers to begin receiving payments for article snippets used in search, leaving more contentious issues like AI training and text extraction for a long-term deal. They noted that all parties have remained engaged in negotiations since.
Sovereign Alternatives Observers believe Denmark is not only resisting U.S. tech giants but is also one of the few countries actively building its own sovereign alternatives for vital infrastructure. While media across Europe sign licensing deals with American behemoths like Meta and Google, the Danish press stands out as an exception among its European counterparts. Instead of making individual deals, the country's publishers united to form a common front, demanding a higher price for their content's use in online products from search to AI-powered chatbots. However, with the financial struggles of Danish media and layoffs mounting, while Google's parent company, Alphabet, experiences a revenue and profit boom pushing its market value to nearly four trillion dollars, this 'battle' seems increasingly unequal.
Fierce Reactions 'They can afford to wait until we surrender,' said Troels Jorgensen, digital director of the 140-year-old newspaper Politiken, from its headquarters in central Copenhagen.
