American Software being pulled from tens of millions of computers across the EU

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I saw a meme on this, so I asked Claude.

The EU individual governments are pulling all American software.

Why? Well…The meme said many other countries had already pulled the software; France was doing so now.

Yes, France is removing American software from government devices to protect its data from U.S. surveillance laws like the CLOUD Act. [1, 2, 3, 4]

The Reason Behind the Shift

  • U.S. Legal Reach: Laws like the U.S. CLOUD Act let American authorities legally force U.S. tech companies to hand over data. This applies even when the data or servers are located physically outside the United States.
  • Digital Sovereignty: French officials stated they can no longer rely on foreign systems for sensitive government communications and data, prompting a push for national independence in technology. [3, 5, 6]

What France is Changing

  • Operating Systems: France is starting to transition millions of government workstations and computers away from Microsoft Windows to the open-source Linux system.
  • Communication Tools: Public officials are banned from using American video platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, replacing them with a homegrown French tool called Visio.
  • Data and Security: France is also moving away from U.S. data analytics and cloud providers, such as shifting contracts from Palantir to European alternatives like ChapsVision. [2]

On Reddit, opinions are mixed regarding this transition; while supporters view it as a vital long-term security investment, critics point out potential high costs for software compatibility and the difficulty of completely escaping U.S. cloud infrastructure. [8]

If you’d like, I can provide more details on:The timeline for France’s complete software transition by 2027Other European countries making similar moves away from U.S. techHow open-source systems like Linux improve data security

AI responses may include mistakes.

[1] https://techrevolt.news/articles/france-moves-to-remove-microsoft-from-2.5-million-government-computers-in-push-for-digital-sovereignty

[2] https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/latenightlive/france-palantir-microsoft-oceane-herrero-/106858338

[3] https://www.facebook.com/Premiumtimes/posts/the-french-government-in-an-official-statement-issued-on-monday-said-it-intends-/1339244548235866/

[4] https://www.instagram.com/p/DdTc-UBkxnu/

[5] https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6iGEWByXogk

[6] https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/10/france-to-ditch-windows-for-linux-to-reduce-reliance-on-us-tech/

[7] https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yXIfO-yIl30

[8] https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1sv2758/france_ditches_windows_for_linux_to_move_away/

[9] https://www.politico.eu/article/france-ban-officials-us-video-tools-zoom-teams-visio/

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There is an added impetus. With Claude, entities can quickly develop highly sophisticated software without relying on larger software providers. The project costs have dropped dramatically.

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Hardware can be a risk as well.

Rogue communication devices found in Chinese solar power inverters
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/ghost-machine-rogue-communication-devices-found-chinese-inverters-2025-05-14/
While inverters are built to allow remote access for updates and maintenance, the utility companies that use them typically install firewalls to prevent direct communication back to China. However, rogue communication devices not listed in product documents have been found in some Chinese solar power inverters…

Over the past nine months, undocumented communication devices, including cellular radios, have also been found in some batteries from multiple Chinese suppliers, one of them said…

German solar developer 1Komma5 said, however, that it avoids Huawei inverters, because of the brand’s associations with security risks. “Ten years ago, if you switched off the Chinese inverters, it would not have caused a dramatic thing to happen to European grids, but now the critical mass is much larger,” 1Komma5 Chief Executive Philipp Schroeder said.

DB2

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I need to add that the French pulling of American software is from an estimated 30 million machines. Possibly removed from provincial, local, and government workers’ home computers.

Germany and several other nations have already done this.

Corrections the 30 million might be the EU so far, but France only has 5.9 million civil servants.