A comprehensive definition inspired by the Digitale Souveränität als Strategische Autonomie (German; “Digital Sovereignty as Strategic Autonomy”) breaks this down as:
Digital Sovereignty = Data Sovereignty + Technical Sovereignty
This usage takes a holistic approach considering both the digital data we deal with as well as the systems by which we access them, and how those systems can be maintained and further developed.
#Usage in Politics
The term is used in the political context to mean that governments should not depend on a single vendor for any of the services they use or offer to their citizens. In particular, dependence on overseas vendors can be problematic, as different legislation could mean that foreign governments can mandate a vendor located in their legislation to grant access to another government’s data.
But beyond those concerns, there is a simple need for avoiding a single point of failure. Governments would prefer to be able to procure from multiple vendors in their own legislation to better meet the demands of digitalization.
#Interpeer Project
At first glance, here at the Interpeer Project, we are more concerned with Data Sovereignty over its sibling. After all the Human-Centric Internet Architecture we’re developing is strongly focused on taking Data Sovereignty seriously.
That said, the various aspects of Technical Sovereignty do matter very much to us. The only difference is that we view them through the lense of individual citizens’ rather than government institutions’ needs.
It is about humans, after all.