By: Noor Saif Al Mazrouie*
International approaches to regulating cyberspace are increasingly fragmented at a time when digital transformation is accelerating and reshaping daily life. While some prioritise privacy and others emphasise innovation, a further approach places protection at the centre of an open internet by limiting global connectivity through sovereign internet frameworks.
These systems grant states control over technology and networks within their borders, allowing them to permit or restrict access to the global internet in pursuit of digital sovereignty.
Ensuring digital security within an open internet requires a high level of collective awareness, preventive practices and the adoption of tools, laws and regulatory frameworks to prevent external interference and counter cyberattacks.
In countries such as China and Russia, sovereign internet models provide state control over internet infrastructure, software, data and applications within national borders, achieved by isolating domestic networks from the global internet under the rationale of safeguarding national security.
By contrast, many other countries, predominantly in the West, tend to avoid restricting the free flow of information, except in limited circumstances.
Within an open internet environment, both states and private actors possess the capacity to monitor cyberspace, control information flows, impose internet shutdowns, and, in some cases, infringe on privacy.
During periods of conflict or crisis, some governments may move to ban applications deemed incompatible with national security or legal frameworks while promoting local alternatives to protect data and reduce reliance on foreign technology providers.
Indeed, shortly after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war and the imposition of technological sanctions on Moscow by the United States and its allies, Russia accelerated its shift toward a sovereign internet. Considering the open internet as a major vulnerability, it moved to develop domestic infrastructure and local technologies that would allow its network to operate independently from the global system.
Beyond China and Russia, countries like Iran, India and Türkiye have also adopted local systems and technical measures to create controllable segments of the internet within their borders.
China may be the most successful example of building a largely self-contained internet ecosystem, and it has supported other countries pursuing similar paths in an effort to shape new norms in cyberspace.
Yet the expansion of this model raises pressing questions about the protection of citizens’ digital rights, privacy and the free flow of information. In some cases, populations have been effectively isolated from the wider world, with limited access to open internet resources and mandatory reliance on state-approved platforms, resulting in constrained communication in a globalised environment built on open connectivity.
As this trend gains momentum, and as some European service sectors face pressure and restrictions linked to US policies, regulatory disputes and the dominance of American technologies, Europe appears to be moving, at least partially, toward digital sovereignty.
The imposition of US sanctions affecting international institutions on European soil, such as the International Criminal Court, led to the withdrawal of certain US-based technology services in compliance with American sanctions. This development has prompted renewed scrutiny of technological dependence, particularly given that more than 70% of Europe’s digital technologies are imported.
Digital sovereignty strategies aim to establish a form of digital shield that subjects international communication channels to tighter oversight. Achieving full independence, however, remains difficult.
While such approaches grant states greater control in ways that challenge the open internet model, they also raise ongoing concerns about privacy, personal rights and data freedoms, particularly in the evolving relationship between citizens and governments that control technological infrastructure and internet networks.
*Senior researcher at TRENDS Research & Advisory