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Microsoft, Ericsson lead global tech alliance for digital trust
Governments have considered new regulations and domestic investment strategies to reduce digital dependence on the United States and other foreign suppliers.
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Reuters - Fri, 13, Feb 2026
- 14:02 EST
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FILE PHOTO: Visitors look at a heat pump that awaits assembling inside utility Fortum’s heat pump room that is under construction next to Microsoft’s new data centre site in Kirkkonummi, Finland March 7, 2025. / REUTERS/Anne Kauranen/File Photo
A group of 15 companies, led by Microsoft and Ericsson, launched on Feb. 13 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 U.S. 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.
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"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.
Ericsson says no country alone can be fully sovereign
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.
“What does the word ‘sovereignty’ mean? If you label it... it can actually be a trade barrier,” Ericsson CEO Börje Ekholm told Reuters. “There are no countries on this planet that alone can be fully sovereign.”
Companies joining the alliance will self-attest to adhering to the principles, Smith said, adding that the principles also include provisions for independent assessments.
Alliance members operate across connectivity, cloud infrastructure, semiconductors, software, and artificial intelligence.
“We will know we are successful if the current trend of countries pulling apart on technology issues finds a counterweight in what we’re doing,” Smith said.
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