Working Towards Digital Autonomy
Open letter about Big Tech presented to the UU Board
José van Dijck, Jan-Paul van Staalduinen, Margot van der Starre and Albert Meijer holding the signed letter. Photo: Iren Şerbetcioğlu/DUB
The letter was handed over to Vice President Margot van der Starre and the Director of Information and Technology Services Jan-Paul van Staalduinen during a private meeting in the Administration Building in the Utrecht Science Park on the 16th of May.
Professor of Public Innovation Meijer and Professor of Media and Culture Van Dijck are concerned about the privacy and security issues presented by being tied to the current US government. The letter says: “The fact that the data is stored on European servers offers no (legal) protection (because of the U.S. CLOUD Act) and any protections that would be offered can be circumvented by US authorities without transparency.”
Beyond these immediate concerns, they believe UU’s and other Dutch institutions’ reliance on Big Tech is “fundamentally at odds with public values like freedom, independence, autonomy and equality.” A similar sentiment has been addressed in a collective letter by the Rectors of Dutch universities in 2019.
During the meeting the two urged the board to transition into local expertise and to establish the university’s own IT-infrastructure. However, they understand that the change into Big Tech took significant time and are not asking for immediate reversal. In the letter the professors had asked the UU board to “define a point on the horizon and collaboratively define a strategy.”
Security Concerns for Dutch Institutions
Meijer explains: “We realize that a strategic approach is needed with specific lines of action at UU.” But a larger initiative is also needed in their opinion: “Joint actions with other universities through Surf, such as working towards reliable cloud services and identification systems.” Surf is the IT cooperative of Dutch education and research institutions.
The professors have also sent a letter to the joint university boards, the board of Surf, the KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences), UNL (Universities of the Netherlands), and NWO (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research). The letter was co-signed by academics from all fourteen Dutch universities and urged these organizations and institutions to work together on improving digital autonomy. They are currently awaiting a response.