The Global Technology Race

Based on a nationally representative poll across six markets (UK, US, Japan, France, Germany, Italy), this report provides insights into public attitudes towards tech sovereignty to help inform companies as they consider how to navigate and communicate on this agenda.

There are high levels of public support for tech sovereignty. The public supports the principle across all markets surveyed and they see it as increasingly important in light of geopolitical tensions. The public is willing to pay extra for technology developed by domestic companies – two in five state they would be willing to pay 50% more.

Support is strong for sovereignty across the tech stack. Telecoms networks ranked highest with the public. Despite being a major catalyst for tech sovereignty, the public do not attach particular importance to AI sovereignty.

However, the public appear pragmatic about continued reliance on technology from other countries. The results suggest public opinion is there to be influenced on the correct balance between domestic and imported technology. In some markets, such as Japan, Italy and Germany, there was also support for pooled tech sovereignty with allies and other EU member states.

Public confidence in the feasibility of implementing tech sovereignty varies by market. Americans are more confident than Europeans or Japanese. Europeans are more likely than other markets to prefer that government budgets are spent on frontline public services rather than tech sovereignty investments.

Jobs and data protection are compelling arguments with the public on tech sovereignty. This is uniform across all markets regardless of their legal framework on data protection and privacy.

The public sees a major role for government intervention in the tech sector. The public supports a wide range of policy interventions to further tech sovereignty including buy local provisions in public procurement.

The public support deregulation of tech and AI rules but are more cautious on data protection. The UK is an exception on AI deregulation, showing much lower enthusiasm than other markets. The greater attachment to data privacy was seen across all markets regardless of whether they have comprehensive legal frameworks.

We hope this report provides food for thought for leadership, policy and communication teams. It is a snapshot of FGS Global’s research on the subject of tech sovereignty and if you would like to discuss these and other findings, download the report and get in touch with any of the team.