digital sovereignty2 articles
EC Staff Are Complaining About Their Teams Backup. They Should Probably Worry About Bigger Things.
The European Commission is deploying Element Pro, a self-hosted messaging platform built on the open-source Matrix standard, as a backup to Microsoft Teams rather than a replacement, giving the EC greater control over its communications infrastructure. The move is a straightforward business-continuity measure driven by digital sovereignty concerns, particularly the risk that US tech companies could be ordered to cut off services to European users. Despite predictable complaints from change-resistant staff, the author argues the short-term inconvenience is a reasonable trade-off for reducing dependence on externally operated platforms in an increasingly uncertain geopolitical environment.
HMRC Signs £175m, Ten-Year AI Deal With British Firm Quantexa
HMRC has signed a 10-year, £175m contract with British AI firm Quantexa to help tackle tax fraud, fix errors, and improve customer service by combining HMRC data with external sources. The deal comes amid rising public dissatisfaction with HMRC, with complaints exceeding 93,000 in 2024–25, partly due to poor response times. Quantexa has emphasised that AI-driven decisions will remain transparent and human-checked, and that HMRC data will be kept secure within the department's own environment.