Survey of 6,698 people across six EU countries: around 84% said they don't trust US tech companies with their personal data; 93% don't trust Chinese companies
Europe is rolling out measures to keep data local and reduce reliance on foreign tech. — More than 8 in 10 Europeans …Forums:r/politicsForums:r/politics:8 in 10 Europeans don't trust US, Chinese firms with data
Context & Ripple Effects
The survey adds European evidence to a longer deterioration in confidence around corporate data practices: a prior US poll found many people believed corporate data-collection risks outweighed its benefits, while a global survey recorded a broader drop in trust in tech. It arrives as the EU is pursuing data-localization and reduced dependence on foreign providers.
The stakes are commercial as well as political. Related coverage describes US vendors' large role in European cloud and enterprise software, making the reported distrust a useful measure of the public backdrop for the EU's push toward less dependence on US technology providers.
First-order effects
- EU policymakers gain public-opinion support for measures that keep data local and reduce reliance on non-European technology companies.
- US and Chinese technology providers face a sharper trust burden in Europe when asking consumers, businesses, and public institutions to place personal data on their services.
Second-order effects
- European buyers may put greater weight on data residency, contractual control, and jurisdiction when selecting cloud and software suppliers, rather than treating those features as secondary procurement terms.
- The finding reinforces the rationale for EU intervention in platform access and transparency, including the bloc's DMA actions aimed at opening Google-controlled distribution and search data to rivals.
Third-order effects
- If distrust remains durable, European technology procurement could become more jurisdiction-sensitive, fragmenting what foreign vendors can offer as a uniform global service.
- The pattern would favor suppliers able to demonstrate local data governance—not necessarily European ownership—while raising the compliance cost of serving the EU market.
The trend: This is one data point in the shift toward jurisdictional technology markets, where trust in who controls data increasingly shapes platform rules and purchasing decisions.