Dr. Alina Kontareva is a senior researcher at the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Berlin. Her work centres on the political economy of internet technologies, particularly focusing on online platform companies. Currently, she is part of the EU Horizon project “INCA: Increase Corporate Political Responsibility and Accountability,” where she examines the impacts of online platforms on European economies and societies. Alina holds a PhD in Innovation Studies from the University of Oslo. She has held international fellowships at the University of California, Davis, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and the Hague Program on International Cybersecurity.

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Franco Tomassoni is a researcher at the Collaborative Laboratory for Labor, Employment, and Social Protection (CoLABOR), Lisbon, where he coordinates the research line on Labor, Employment, and Technologies and chairs CoLABOR’s Scientific Council. Franco holds a PhD in Global Studies from the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences (FCSH) at NOVA University Lisbon (UNL). His work lies at the intersection of geopolitics, history, social theory, and macroeconomics, exploring the relationships between technology, hegemonic transitions, and labor and employment dynamics. He is involved in several national and international research projects and serves on the editorial committee of the Portuguese publisher Fora de Jogo.

Dr Szymon Pilch is an assistant professor at the Department of Sociology of Work and Economic Sociology of the Institute of Sociology at the University of Wrocław, Poland. He is a sociologist by training and has held a PhD in sociology from the University of Wrocław since 2023. His current research interests focus primarily on the intersection of labour sociology, digital economy, platform work, industrial relations, outsourcing, and digital and green transition. He participates in the Horizon Europe program-funded projects INCA and EGRUiEN, and a couple of the Polish National Science Centre-funded projects on the job quality and life strategies of workers in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as working conditions of IT workers in the IT outsourcing industry in Poland.

Maurilio Pirone is a Junior Researcher at the Department of Arts of the University of Bologna, where he teaches political philosophy and works for the Horizon Europe project INCA. He is a member of the Into the Black Box research collective and of the COST Action P-WILL. His interests delve into labor and technologies, logistics, and globalization. He has been the editor of Ultimo miglio. Lavoro di piattaforma e conflitti urbani (2023) and Capitalism in the Platform Age. Emerging Assemblages of Labor and Welfare in Urban Spaces (2024).

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European digital policy is shifting towards reducing the continent’s structural dependency on foreign companies. Yet, it remains unclear how such a shift can be realized across different markets and technologies. This article examines Europe’s dependence on US platform companies—specifically Google, Meta (Facebook), Amazon, and Microsoft—which have become central providers of online services in Europe. We trace the historical roots of this dependency and analyze the strategic partnerships forged between US firms and European governments in Portugal, Italy, and Poland from the early 1990s to 2025. Our findings show that dependency extends beyond technological lock-in to include the central role of US platforms in national socio-economic development. The study further highlights a tension between EU-level policies aimed at achieving technological sovereignty and national-level priorities that continue to rely heavily on partnerships with US firms. We conclude the article by underscoring the need for a comprehensive industrial policy capable of balancing openness to global firms with the promotion of European competitiveness.