Microsoft, Ericsson lead global tech alliance for digital trust

STOCKHOLM: A group of 15 companies, led by Microsoft and Ericsson, launched on Friday the “Trusted Tech Alliance,” built around five principles to safely use technology regardless of where it is developed.

The initiative is the first concerted move by a group of global companies to address concerns about where data is stored as the increasingly isolationist United States, under US President Donald Trump, has sharpened Europe’s and Asia’s focus on “digital sovereignty”.

Governments have considered new regulations and domestic investment strategies to reduce digital dependence on the United States and other foreign suppliers.

“This is a period of time when many governments and countries are feeling pressure to create stronger technology borders, to focus more on their own digital sovereignty,” Microsoft President Brad Smith told Reuters in an interview.

“Our companies are working together to set this high standard to really make clear what the definition of trust is,” he said.

The alliance includes companies such as Anthropic, Amazon Web Services, Alphabet’s Google, India’s Reliance Jio Platforms, Finland’s Nokia, Canada’s Cohere, Japan’s NTT, and Germany’s SAP.

Its five principles call for strong corporate governance, ethical conduct, secure technology development, adherence to global security standards across supply chains, and support for an open digital environment.

Ericsson and Microsoft started discussing the formation of the alliance in the middle of last year.