We must not become digitally naïve
Perhaps full digital sovereignty is a utopia, but it is high time to take digital independence seriously, writes Kjetil Lein.
Debate: By Kjetil Lein, NITO. The post was published 20.02.2026 in altinget.no.
In the Political Quarter this week, the Socialist Left Party claimed that Norway is a world leader in digital naivety. The Minister of Digitalisation responded by saying that digital sovereignty is utopian. Full sovereignty may be unrealistic, but we must take digital independence seriously if we are to become the world's most digitalised country. It is about strategic autonomy: reducing vulnerabilities and ensuring national control without sacrificing freedom of action, competitiveness and efficiency.
Digital technology has become a geopolitical tool. Overnight, one of the world's most important legal institutions lost control of its own data. The International Criminal Court (ICC) recently broke with Microsoft when the chief prosecutor was denied access to his account following sanctions from Trump.
Political instability and reliance on unpredictable actors increase the risk of downtime, data loss and leakage of sensitive information. If the data-sharing agreement between the United States and Europe collapses, the transfer of personal data to the United States could become illegal. Norwegian companies then risk being left in a legal and operational vacuum that can paralyze critical functions such as patient records and case management.
The challenge is to find European alternatives with enough functionality and security at an affordable price.
Kjetil Lein, President of NITO
In Norway, the largest municipalities and almost all central government agencies use American cloud services. At the same time as the EU is moving away from American suppliers and investing in European alternatives, DFØ has entered into the largest cloud agreement in Norwegian history with four American tech giants. NSM's recommendation for separate national cloud services has still not been followed up.
DFØ's cloud agreement reflects today's market reality. The challenge is to find European alternatives with enough functionality and security at an affordable price. The strategy that the Socialist Left Party is calling for must take this into account. We need a plan that acknowledges the realities, but at the same time reduces vulnerabilities.
Six measures for digital autonomy
To ensure Norway's digital freedom of action, we propose:
1. Build competence through multipartite cooperation. A targeted digital competence boost is needed for digitalisation to take place in a responsible, independent manner. Managers must take ownership of digitalisation, and technologists must assess risk, develop their own solutions and ensure the quality of new technology. Without understanding and control over technology, we are not the ones who set the terms. With competence development, technology development and increased innovation capacity, we strengthen our competitiveness and become less dependent on a few global suppliers. Here we have an advantage in the Norwegian model. Used correctly, it can ensure that expertise and regulation are developed in line with technology, and contribute to a restructuring that does not come at the expense of efficiency, value creation and safety.
2. Map dependencies and increase digital room for manoeuvre: We need an overview of technological dependencies and mapping of vulnerabilities. With a risk-driven approach, we can develop realistic exit strategies for critical dependencies if the framework conditions suddenly change. In parallel, possible European alternatives should be identified and put into practice. The plan must take into account that digital independence can result in higher costs and reduced functionality in a transition phase, and show how we ensure capacity and flexibility.
3. Invest in open source and supplier diversity: Norway should make far greater use of open source code and open standards. By diversifying our technology choices, we gain access to a wider range of solutions that strengthen competitiveness and innovation, while avoiding locking ourselves into individual suppliers. Open solutions can provide just as good functionality, better security and more control.
We cannot become the world's most digitalised country without taking digital independence seriously.
Kjetil Lein, President of NITO
4. Strengthen the digital foundation: Norway's infrastructure must be made more robust. Increased investments in protection against cyber attacks, hybrid threats and failures in critical systems are necessary for digitalisation to rest on a solid foundation.
5. Participate actively in European technology cooperation: Despite significant national investments in emerging technologies, Norway cannot achieve digital autonomy alone. The EU's "independence moment" will shape Norwegian competitiveness and knowledge development in the future. The Union is strengthening its independence through the defence industry, new trade agreements, European value chains and major investments in semiconductors, raw materials, energy and digital autonomy. They prioritise common solutions, common regulation and cyber security across national borders. We cannot take for granted that the current arrangements give us permanent access or influence. Therefore, the Norwegian authorities must ensure that we participate actively in EU programmes so that we can participate and influence developments.
6. Strengthen Nordic co-operation and learn from the pioneers. Together with our Nordic neighbours, we make up the world's 12th largest economy, and closer Nordic co-operation gives us greater impact. Arenas such as the Nordic-Baltic digitalisation cooperation and New Nordic's AI should be used actively to promote common solutions and standards. We can be inspired by the pioneers: Germany has established its own centre for digital sovereignty in the public sector, the German and Austrian armed forces are replacing Microsoft's open-source software, and the municipality of Aarhus in Denmark is replacing Microsoft with European solutions and building AI with open language models. Here in Norway, Larvik municipality becomes independent of Microsoft and Google in case processing and saves millions. Such examples show that digital independence is possible when the will is there.
Norway has very good conditions for succeeding with a more independent digitalisation. We have strong professional environments, municipalities that dare to think innovatively, and a tripartite model that enables responsible technological change. If we invest in expertise, open technologies and closer cooperation with our neighbours, we can strengthen innovation and welfare and at the same time ensure democratic control over social development. But we cannot become the world's most digitalised country without taking digital independence seriously.