The bigger picture: Europe’s data sovereignty & free & open source software

EU map

As we’ve seen in recent developments on the international stage, software, services, & IT infrastructure are not just tools, they can be used as an instrument of power. Europe’s schools, universities, & other educational & training organisations, where monopolistic proprietary software has become the default for everything from keeping student records to language instruction, are no exception to this. But as recent scandals & structural concerns make clear, this dependence on global tech giants comes at a cost: to privacy, pedagogical ethics & flexibility, & European Union member states’ data sovereignty.

For educational institutions across the EU, including those supporting foreign & second language learning, Free & Open Source Software (FOSS) offers a path to regain autonomy & control, cut costs, & promote inclusive, multilingual education aligned with EU values, for example the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which provides legally binding guarantees for the security & privacy of all EU citizens’ & residents’ personal & often sensitive information.

The problem: When big tech enters the classroom

Over the last decade, companies like Google, Microsoft, & Zoom have aggressively entered the education sector, offering software suites, cloud services, & even AI-powered learning tools, often at little or no upfront cost. But “free” comes with strings attached. Consider the following examples:

  • Google & Dutch Education (2020–2022): Dutch authorities found Google Workspace for Education non-compliant with GDPR, particularly around data transparency & processing. Schools were advised not to use it until terms were renegotiated.

  • Microsoft 365 Banned in German Schools (2022–2023): German states declared Microsoft 365 illegal for school use due to telemetry data being sent to US servers, violating GDPR.

  • Google Analytics Banned (2022): Data protection authorities in Austria, France, & Italy ruled Google Analytics violated GDPR by sending users’, including school pupils’ & students’ data, to the USA. Educational websites had to find alternatives.

  • Google Chrome & G-Suite in Ireland (2021): Ireland’s Data Protection Commission found covert data collection on student devices using Chrome & G-Suite, triggering further investigation & concern among schools.

  • YouTube’s Data Collection on Children (2019): Fined $170 million by the FTC for collecting minors’ data without consent. Although a US case, it raised concerns in the EU about using YouTube in educational contexts.

  • Microsoft has also been a target of EU antitrust investigations for years. Its bundling of Teams with Office 365 led to a formal complaint by Slack & opened questions about vendor lock-in, where schools become dependent on a single ecosystem, unable to migrate without major disruption. Vendor lock-in reduces institutional flexibility & creates long-term dependencies, making it difficult for schools to adapt, innovate, or exit when legal or ethical issues arise.

These examples illustrate a pattern: Big tech’s dominance in education isn’t just a convenience, it’s a power imbalance. For Europe’s public institutions & independent educational organisations alike, this raises uncomfortable questions about data sovereignty, democratic oversight, & pedagogical autonomy.

In addition, Google, Microsoft, Adobe, Meta (Facebook), & many others offer “software development kits” (SDKs) for creating websites & apps that have surveillance functions deeply programmed in so that it is difficult & time-consuming to block or remove. SDKs dramatically reduce the time, expertise, & money it takes to develop apps & websites & so offer a substantial competitive advantage. However, this means that software developers around the world are (unwittingly?) adding big tech surveillance to the mobile apps & websites they develop to the point where it’s difficult to find websites or apps, including those developed by or for governments & educational institutions, that do not collect & relay EU citizens’ & residents’ personal information to unregulated “data brokers,” who profit from collecting & selling our personal information to whoever will pay. In this way, big tech have made disrespecting people’s personal data privacy & security & flouting the GDPR the norm. This normalises surveillance, erodes public trust, & makes it nearly impossible for institutions or users to exercise meaningful oversight or consent.

FOSS: A safer, smarter alternative for education

These cases highlight a systematic disregard for student privacy & EU data laws, placing students’ & minors’ personal information at risk & undermining democratic safeguards. But what does a viable alternative look like? Free & Open Source Software, software that can be freely used, modified, & shared, provides a safer, more privacy & security oriented, & more flexible alternative. In the context of education & language learning, it brings key advantages:

1. Digital sovereignty & data protection

Unlike big tech’s cloud services, FOSS tools can be hosted on local or national servers, giving institutions full control over student, teacher, & staff data. This aligns with the EU’s GDPR & broader initiatives to build secure digital infrastructure that is less vulnerable to big tech & foreign government influence or surveillance.

2. Cost-effective access for all

FOSS can reduce costs for educational institutions in several important ways:

  • No licensing fees: Unlike proprietary software that often requires expensive per-user or annual licenses, FOSS is usually free to download, use, & distribute. Schools & universities don’t need to pay for each installation or user, which significantly lowers software acquisition costs.

  • Reuse of existing hardware: Many FOSS applications are lightweight & can run on older computers that might not support the latest proprietary software. This extends the lifespan of existing hardware, reducing the need for frequent, costly upgrades.

  • No vendor lock-in: FOSS avoids the trap of being tied to one vendor’s pricing or upgrade cycles. Institutions can switch between service providers, developers, or host the software themselves without costly migration or licensing penalties.

  • Lower support & maintenance costs (over time): While there may be initial training or setup costs, FOSS systems often have active communities, detailed documentation, & long-term support. This can reduce the need for expensive vendor-based technical support in the long run.

  • Community-driven development: Features & tools developed by other institutions or users are often freely available, reducing the need to pay for custom development. Plugins & extensions are commonly shared across user communities.

  • Shared resources: In academic networks, institutions can pool resources to collaboratively support & maintain FOSS tools, sharing costs & expertise across regions or sectors.

3. Tailored language learning

Language education thrives on adaptability, localisation, & cultural nuance, all areas where FOSS excels. Tools like:

  • Moodle, a widely used open-source learning management system, enables teachers to create multilingual courses, integrate pronunciation tools, & track language development.

  • Anki, a flashcard app with thousands of community-made decks for European languages, allows students to customise content or even contribute new resources.

  • LibreOffice, an open-source office suite, supports spell-check, grammar tools, & document templates in dozens of languages, including lesser-supported EU languages like Catalan, Galician, or Estonian. Additionally, LibreOffice’s open document format (ODF) is less problematic for authoring learning content, materials, & resources for online use; a notorious issue with Microsoft’s proprietary MS Office format.

4. Extensibility & adaptibility

Both Moodle & Anki also have open plugin architectures which means that anyone can develop plugins (AKA “extensions”) that provide additional functions & features for specialist use-cases. They also host large repositories of ready-made, community supported & maintained plugins so that if there are some additional specific functions & features your educational project requires, you can probably find those already provided, free of charge & easily adaptable. This kind of flexibility is simply not possible with corporate-owned platforms that prioritise scale & profit over specificity.

Serving communities, not shareholders

Additionally & very importantly, community-based FOSS projects are fundamentally different from proprietary software in their development philosophy & user orientation. Rather than being designed to maximise shareholder value, to keep users online for as long as possible (regardless of any detrimental effects), & extract user data for advertising purposes, FOSS is created by communities, for communities. These projects are typically developed by volunteers, public institutions, universities, & non-profit organisations who collaborate to meet shared needs, whether it’s accessible educational platforms, privacy-respecting communication tools, or software that runs efficiently on older hardware. This democratic, community-driven model ensures that user feedback, inclusivity, & adaptability are core priorities, not afterthoughts. As a result, FOSS can better reflect public values such as transparency, autonomy, & digital equity, making it especially well-suited to the mission & values of educational institutions, public services, & other education & training organisations across the EU.

Protecting learners’ rights in the digital classroom

When educational institutions & organisations adopt closed-source software from companies, especially those with track records of privacy violations, students are often left with no say in how their personal information is used. This is particularly problematic in language learning, where AI-powered tools often record voices, analyse texts where they express personal views, opinions, & values, & store writing samples. There are also frequent failures to moderate or offer effective tools & processes to moderate & oversee the content that students are exposed to (AKA “right of audit”) to teachers & staff. FOSS platforms, on the other hand, are transparent. Code, content, & communications can be audited. Algorithms can be examined. Student & staff data stays in the EU. This kind of digital accountability is not only good policy, it is a fundamental democratic principle.

While transitioning to FOSS presents challenges, including staff training, migration costs, & potential compatibility issues, these are outweighed by the long-term benefits in sustainability, transparency, & compliance with European law.

Real-world examples of FOSS in education

Here are some examples of using FOSS in educational contexts:

  • Schleswig-Holstein (Germany) is replacing Microsoft products in 30,000 school computers with Linux & LibreOffice, citing cost savings & the need for independence from big tech providers.

  • University of Rennes 2 (France) uses open source video conferencing & cloud services to avoid external surveillance & ensure GDPR compliance.

  • European Schoolnet, a network supported by the European Commission, promotes open-source resources & teacher collaboration to support language & STEM learning across borders.

  • The EU’s Erasmus+ programme brings together pupils & students from around the world in cultural & language virtual exchanges or “tandems” using Moodle software as a platform & medium of exchange. It also incorporates research & support for virtual language learning from a number of EU universities thereby ensuring that the EU is a world leader in online & digital language pedagogy theory & practice.

Conclusion

Recent media attention to EU member countries’ dependency on & vulnerability to big tech’s proprietary, monopolistic, profit-driven software, infrastructure, & services strengthens the long-standing arguments for increasing our digital independence rather than ceding yet more control over our educational future. By deepening our commitment to FOSS, universities, schools, & other educational organisations can reclaim control & independence, thereby creating a climate where innovation, protecting students’ rights, & promoting open, multilingual learning reflect the values & diversity of the European Union. Open source is not just a technical solution. It’s a declaration of independence & unity in an increasingly politicised & polarised digital age.