Imagine logging in one morning to find Google unavailable, Microsoft suspending cloud computing services for your company, and the payment infrastructure your bank relies on offline.

For most Europeans, this remains a nightmarish scenario. However, according to a new survey conducted by the European Polling Organization and presented to members of the European Parliament, an overwhelming majority no longer consider it far-fetched. A total of 86% of participants said that a move by the United States to restrict Europe's access to digital services is "possible" and "should not be ruled out," while nearly 60% went further, describing it as a "real and tangible threat."

This anxiety reflects a fundamental shift in how Europeans perceive their relationship with American technology, particularly under Donald Trump's administration. The numbers alone illustrate the scale of concern: the European Union relies on non-European countries for more than 80% of its products, services, and digital infrastructure, including intellectual property rights. Amazon, Microsoft, and Google collectively control about 70% of the continent’s cloud computing market, while European service providers account for only 15%. Since Trump's return to the White House, his administration has consistently treated American technological dominance as a geopolitical power tool.

But more troublingly, the scenario Europeans fear is no longer hypothetical. Two incidents in the past year have offered clear glimpses of what digital coercion from Washington might look like in practice. In Ukraine, with negotiations stalled over a critical metals deal, American officials threatened to cut off Kyiv's access to Starlink services, which are vital for Ukrainian field communications. Domestically, the International Criminal Court provided an equally concerning example. After placing Israeli leaders on its wanted list, the Court's Prosecutor, Karim Khan, found his email account—hosted on Microsoft servers—disabled. Microsoft denied that this constituted a "complete shutdown" but acknowledged disabling Khan's account, raising significant concerns among European institutions that rely on American cloud service providers for their most sensitive communications.

Yet the question remains: can Europe truly separate itself from America? A painful paradox lies at the heart of this discussion. The European Union, which has been the most vocal about the risks of the American "digital off-switch," discovered that it possesses a version of this power itself. When Microsoft temporarily suspended services for an Indian energy company following EU sanctions on Russia, Brussels realized it wielded precisely the kind of digital influence it fears from Washington. The "off-switch," it turns out, is a feature of any jurisdiction with sufficient regulatory sway over tech companies—and the EU holds more of this influence than it often acknowledges. However, this does not erase the imbalance. European cloud infrastructure is largely American-designed, its AI systems primarily rely on American models, and its satellite connectivity is American-owned. Even Mistral AI, the premier European company in language models, commands only 2% of the global market.

The survey presented to European Parliament members highlights how public opinion across the continent has shifted after more than a year of Trump wielding American economic and technological advantages as a weapon. Although this fear is relative—as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz noted at the Munich Security Conference in February—Europe’s over-reliance on the United States is "self-inflicted," and reversing it will take years that current geopolitical conditions may not allow. Until then, this digital weapon remains firmly at Washington’s disposal.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Annahar.