Volt's path to digital sovereignty

Relying on American hyperscalers is not sustainable for Volt. We are committed to transitioning completely to European and open-source solutions. In this post, we transparently share what we've done, what we're doing, and where we still need to take steps.

Apr 21, 2026
A flag of the European Union with on top of that a router, two ethernet cables, and a dongle.

Political context

Growing geopolitical tensions between Europe and the USA reflect our different visions of democracy. The Volt Europa Tech team aims to use technologies that align with our principles of data sovereignty, protection of privacy and inclusion. This is not in line with the global market dominance of the Big Tech companies based in the USA.

It is clear to us that reliance on American hyperscalers within Volt and Europe is not sustainable in the long term. That is why we are committed to transitioning completely to European and open-source solutions. We want to enable European digital sovereignty and innovation, making Europe economically and technologically strong.

Where we are now

The main reason to step away from American Big Tech is that we want full control of our data. US law, most notably the CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act of 2018), allows American authorities to compel US-based companies to disclose data, even if stored outside the United States. The EU-US Data Privacy Framework, intended to address these concerns, rests on an Executive Order and can be revoked by any sitting US president without congressional approval. For a value-driven political organisation like Volt, that level of legal uncertainty is not acceptable. We at Volt take data protection of our members seriously. Therefore, we have started taking concrete steps to use European-hosted and open-source tools:

  • Our Community platform and intranets have been migrated to a German-built tool.

  • CiviCRM is soon to be our European-hosted open-source member management system.

  • LogTo, an open-source identity service provider, is our alternative to Google authentication (SSO).

  • All our official websites are hosted by a European partner, using Statamic Laravel, supported by Mave (a European Alternative to YouTube embeds), and Plausible for anonymous analytics. They all ensure cookie-free videos and webpages.

  • Even though we still rely on American technology to send out newsletter campaigns, transactional emails are now sent through Lettermint - a European email broadcasting provider.

  • Streaming and online events are all shared through a French webinar tool.

  • Amendments and motions ahead of assemblies are managed through Motion Tools, which is an open-source solution born in Germany.

  • Our new learning management system is an open-source e-learning tool.

Challenges

This is only the beginning. We have a long way ahead of us. Due to limited human and financial resources, we encounter several challenges:

  1. Europe already has great alternatives to the majority of US-based tools and systems, but they often come at a higher price and a less streamlined user experience.

  2. Self-hosted open-source tools require constant maintenance. We are always seeking volunteers to help us with that.

  3. We want to ensure that Volt tools enable productive work and collaboration between our members, supporters, and volunteers. We aim to implement systems that suit everyone, from tech experts to digital novices.

What we need to work on

Despite these challenges, we aim to eliminate our reliance on American Big Tech in the coming years by taking small but decisive steps. We also need to make sure that changes do not cause downtime and that our organisation continues to run smoothly. In the future, we want to focus on the following:

  • Step-by-step replacement of Google services with European providers. Making a change starts with being honest. So we need to be transparent about our big reliance on Google Suite. We are changing this, as shown by the integration of a new authentication system. Now it’s time to take the next small step of reducing our reliance on Google. 

  • Running all our infrastructure on the European cloud.

  • Using European payment processors, such as ClubCollect and Wero, both on the European level and across all our national chapters, for accepting payments, donations, and member fees, whilst also supporting national solutions, which are common, e.g. in the North European countries.

  • Sending all of our mailing campaigns using European mail delivery services.

  • Going up the supplier chain. We can help our suppliers move their tech stack to European alternatives, if they are reliant on foreign big tech solutions.

While making these changes, we want to avoid vendor lock-in. Interoperability standards will be an important factor when choosing our service providers.

Great news: you can be a part of it!

This is not just another IT project.  It is a political necessity and a reflection of our values, an ongoing commitment that everyone in Volt can be a part of.

You can start bringing the change by transforming your own habits, like switching to a European browser and using a European alternative to ChatGPT & co (and recommend that your friends do the same!). Find European alternatives on this website. You can also help Volt by joining our Tech team efforts as a volunteer to help us move in the right direction more quickly, or support us financially to make the transition happen.

How will you be a part of this change?

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You and us share the same dream of a united, thriving Europe. It really means a lot to us when you make a donation, and if you would like to help us plan ahead with confidence, we thank you for your monthly contribution 💜