How IT nationalists are getting it wrong

A new EU-funded study by GPPi and the New America Foundation analyzing the ineffectiveness of European proposals to regain ​“technological sovereignty” is hitting a nerve with IT nationalists, many of whom had their sights set on lucrative government contracts and subsidies. In an op-ed published in Handelsblatt, Thorsten Benner and Tim Maurer respond to Sandro Gaycken’s attack on the study, deploring Gaycken’s choice to privilege conspiracy theories over factual arguments. IT nationalists lead us down a costly blind-alley, the authors argue. Instead, Germany and Europe urgently need a more informed debate on data security and industrial policy.