Big Tech’s hostile takeover of democracy

Democracy is being rewired. The systems shaping what we see, how public services function and who holds power are increasingly controlled by a handful of US tech companies. Cloud, AI, data infrastructure: this is where power now lives. And right now, much of that power sits outside democratic control.

Across Europe, there’s growing recognition this isn’t just about innovation or regulation. It’s about sovereignty, accountability, and whether democratic societies can still govern the systems they depend on. At the same time, Big Tech is increasingly being deployed by authoritarian actors against progressive people – and in particular, by Trump and Putin against the EU and Europe.

This is a political project, not just an economic one. It’s complex, urgent and existential. But it is not inevitable.

In this one-hour live panel hosted by Volt Europa and The Citizens on Substack, we’ll explore the geopolitical pressure points accelerating the push for Digital Sovereignty, the dependencies keeping Europe locked into the status quo, and what a genuinely democratic alternative could look like.

⏱️ Mark the date! Thursday June 4, 8pm CET / 7pm UK.
🖥️ Where? Online. Subscribe here to be notified when we go live.
🎟️ Ticket price? Free. Democracy is priceless etc etc.

We have an incredible panel for this conversation:

Carole Cadwalladr is an investigative journalist and co-founder of The Nerve. Her reporting probes the nexus of politics and Silicon Valley power. Formerly of The Guardian and Observer, she now writes How to Survive the Broligarchy on Substack and co-founded The Citizens (that's us!), a nonprofit focused on pushing back against Big Tech.

Sophie in 't Veld spent two decades in the European Parliament as a leading voice on digital rights and the rule of law. She now chairs the Advisory Council for the Centre for Democracy and Technology Europe and sits on the Advisory Council of Defend Democracy. A longtime member of D66, she joined Volt in 2023.

Reinier van Lanschot is co-founder of Volt Netherlands and a Member of the European Parliament. In Brussels, he works on European defence, regulating Big Tech and treaty reform, and advocates for a federal Europe, outlined in his book We Are Europe.

Roger McNamee is an early Facebook investor turned Big Tech critic and author of Zucked. One of Silicon Valley’s most prominent dissenting voices, he now campaigns globally on the dangers posed by monopolistic tech power and surveillance capitalism.

The future of democracy shouldn’t be decided by a handful of tech companies. Join us with your questions, concerns and healthiest level of paranoia.

We hope to see you there,
Team Citizens

PS - The event is public, free to attend and will be recorded for those who can’t make it live.