Open letter to the Executive University Board: Calling for a transformation to digital autonomy

You can sign the open letter here.

We, the undersigned, express our concern about our university’s reliance on services from Big Tech companies (particularly Microsoft, Google, Amazon) for our research, teaching and administrative activities. (1) The University of Amsterdam’s commitment to offer alternatives needs to be prioritized again. Several years ago, the Rectors of the Dutch universities collectively and wisely warned about this. (2) Meanwhile almost all Dutch universities migrated to Big Tech cloud services, at the expense of our internally operated computer centers.

The University of Amsterdam is currently largely dependent on Microsoft Office 365 for all our office work: emailing, writing documents, creating presentations, making video calls, sharing documents and storing our data. Other significant dependencies exist for several key systems at our university. This creates multiple vulnerabilities, especially in the light of a rapidly changing geopolitical situation. (3)

First of all, there are significant security and privacy risks. Access to adopted services rely on authentication services that depend on transatlantic connections, that may be cut at the whims of the American government. In such a situation, all research and teaching would come to an immediate halt. We are also losing control over our data. Microsoft, Google, Zoom and other companies whose services we rely on can be required by law to share our communications, documents, and sensitive (personal) data with US agencies. The fact that the data is stored on European servers offers no (legal) protection (4) and any protections that would be offered can be circumvented by US authorities without transparency.

Apart from these immediate security and privacy concerns, our alternative-less reliance on Big Tech is fundamentally at odds with public values like freedom, independence, autonomy and equality— as pointed out already in 2019 by the Rectors. The digital services we use for our research and teaching are profoundly shaping our professional practices; the incorporation of the newest AI-tools (e.g. co-Pilot) in basic software (e.g. MS Office 365), substantially shape our teaching and research and hence impact our professional autonomy.

Replacement of academic ICT infrastructure with software services from large companies has also changed what universities can offer to their community as well as to society in general. This is because universities increasingly favor corporate ICT and management environments in-house or open source solutions developed for universities. In the process, they loose key capacity and flexibility to manage services beyond what is offered by the dominant companies. This inadvertently creates a preferential environment for the bigger players.

The matters combined transform universities from being a source of technical innovation and knowledge distribution to consumers of services. Or worse, by moving more research practices and associated innovation into the clouds, these companies end up determining the conditions for research, nudging research agendas and outcomes towards implementations in their environments. This means publicly funded research can at times come to entrench the dominance of these few companies into the future.

With this open letter we call upon you to pursue a course towards strategic independence and offering alternatives, thereby reducing this heavy reliance on services from a handful of very large, non-European companies and contributing to greater technological self-determination, resilience and public innovation for and with universities across Europe.

We understand that these developments happened slowly over the years and our university cannot switch to its own IT-infrastructure or rebuild its ICT departments immediately. We therefore ask you to define a point on the horizon and collaboratively define a strategy. We ask you to make our university’s explicit policy goal to significantly reduce our universities’ dependency on Big Tech services in three years time. Universities, in collaboration with each other and SURF, need to work towards technical infrastructures and practices that restore our role in charting democratic and equitable digital futures.

Alternatives to Big Tech offerings — based on non-profit motives, open-source, public values and transparency — do exist and are essential for universities to transform digitally. Importantly, the less we use these alternatives, the more our reliance on Big Tech becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Below we list several things which can be done immediately.

• Locally: reverse the ongoing transition to Big Tech and invest in local expertise and deployment, for instance by running our own mail server, and by expanding on the Nextcloud initiative (5), that you already support in the pilot for AlgoSoc.
• Nationally: use your influence within SURF to make the point on the horizon a national goal for the (higher) education sector. Work with your colleagues in the Netherlands to turn universities into an engine of innovation for transformative and equitable digital futures.
• Internationally: work actively with other European universities for an autonomous academic IT-infrastructure that could be a source of innovation and resilience globally.

We have already started a dialogue with our UvA University Board to start moving towards digital resilience and self-determination in academic institutions across Europe and beyond. If you support this strategy, please sign this local petition to show your concerns and bring them to the attention of our university, preferably before April 16, 2025. We hope our initiative will be picked up by colleagues at other universities in The Netherlands to show the broad academic base of our concerns.

Sincerely,

Prof. dr. Natali Helberger (Professor of AI and Law, Co-director AlgoSoc)

Prof. dr. Claes de Vreese (Professor of AI & Society, Co-director AlgoSoc)

Signatories (6 May, 9:00 CET) - 217

1. Agustin Ferrari Braun / Faculty of Humanities
2. Max van Drunen / Institute for Information Law
3. Fabio Votta / ASCoR
4. Tom Dobber / Assistant Professor Political Communication & Journalism
5. A. Marthe Möller / Assistant Professor of Entertainment Communication
6. Thomas Poell / Professor of Media Studies
7. Els De Busser / Associate Professor Information Law
8. Nathalie van Doorn / Program manager AlgoSoc
9. Bert Bakker / Associate Professor, Department of Communication Science
10. Penny Sheets Thibaut / Senior Lecturer
11. Corinna Oschatz / Amsterdam School of Communication Research
12. Felicia Loecherbach / Assistant Professor Political Communication & Journalism
13. Ulrike Klinger / Department of Communication Science
14. Geert-Jan Meewisse / Not affiliated
15. Joris van Hoboken / Professor of Information Law
16. Charis Papaevangelou / Institute for Information Law
17. Aqsa Farooq / postdoctoral researcher
18. Justin Chun-ting Ho / Amsterdam School of Communication Research
19. Teresa Weikmann / Postdoctoral Researcher
20. Wouter Tebbens
21. Marcel van Egmond / Senior Lecturer Communication Science
22. Tom van der Meer / Professor of Political Science
23. Rutger Helmers / Assistant professor
24. Marina Tulin / Assistant Professor Communication Science
25. Mathijs Booden / Docent
26. Menno den Engelse
27. Max Roeleveld
28. Tessel Renzenbrink / UvA ulumna
29. Jelle Boumans / Lecturer
30. Sindy Sumter / Associate professor
31. Boudewijn Koopmans employee at IXA / Faculty of Humanities
32. Noon Abdulqadir / PhD
33. Halil Can Kurban / Postdoc at European Studies
34. Tom Schoonen / Assistant Professor Philosophy of AI
35. Floor Fiers / Assistant Professor in Communication, Organisations and Society
36. Regula Hänggli / Alumni Assistant Professor
37. Heleen Janssen / Assistant professor
38. Davide Beraldo / Media Studies ILLC
39. Lisanne Buik / Visiting lecturer AI ethics
40. Thomas Smits / UD
41. Klaas Hernamdt / Programme lead Humanities Venture Lab
42. Katjana Gattermann / Associate Professor at ASCoR
43. Amir Vudka / Assistant professor Media Studies
44. Raoul Koudijs / PhD Student
45. Marisa Ponti / None
46. Mariana Lanari / PhD AHM
47. Charles Jeurgens / Professor of Archival Studies
48. Khalil Sima'an / Professor, Faculty of Science
49. Kim Baraka None / VU
50. Sanneke Stigter / Faculty of Humanities
51. Marjolein Lanzing / Assistant Professor Philosophy of Technology
52. Kimon Kieslich / Postdoctoral Researcher at IViR
53. Andrel Linnenbank / Alumnus, student and vaksteunpuntcoordinator bij betapartners
54. Ilse van der Linden / PhD candidate
55. Jin Wan / AsCoR
56. Julia Hoffmann / IAS 
57. Delfina S. Martinez Pandiani / Media Studies ILLC
58. Hannes Cools / Assistant Professor 'Human Factor in New Technologies'
59. Abraham Geil / Assistant Professor of Media Studies
60. Shivani Kaul / Promovendus and Docent
61. Oskar Verkaaik / Associate professor Anthropology
62. Ansgar Mohnkern / Assistent Professor
63. Josephine van den Bent / Assistant professor
64. Lisa Kuitert / Professor Book Studies
65. Margriet van Heesch / Department of Sociology
66. Joep Onstenk / Docent
67. Abbey Steele / Associate Professor, Political Science
68. Frank de Morrée / PhD Candidate
69. Vincent Kuitenbrouwer / Senior Lecturer History Department
70. Ulle Endriss / Professor of AI and Collective Decision Making, ILLC, FNWI
71. Theresa Josephine Seipp / Postdoctoral Researcher
72. Luc de Groot / Teacher (D4)
73. Gavin Mueller / Assistant Professor of New Media and Digital Culture
74. Hugo H
75. Melvin Wevers / Assistant Professor Digital History
76. Tamara Butter / UD
77. Lorenzo Grevink / PhD Student
78. Laurens Naudts / Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute for Information Law
79. Esther Peeren / Professor of Cultural Analysis, Faculty of Humanities
80. Annette Freyberg-Inan / Professor, Department of Political Science
81. Ryan Jessurun / 
82. Vera Neplenbroek / PhD Student
83. Lukas Koster / PhD candidate ASH
84. Linda Duits / Lecturer
85. Eloe Kingma / ASCA
86. Caroline Roset / lecturer
87. Jaap Kooijman / Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis
88. Lars Klute / Lecturer Mediastudies, ASCA PhD Candidate
89. Rhys Jones / Assistant Professor in Media Studies
90. Rik Spanjers / Assistant professor of Media and Culture
91. Stijn Peeters / Assistant Professor, Media Studies
92. Niels van Doorn / Associate Professor
93. Jan Teurlings / Assistant Professor Media Studies
94. Markus Stauff / Associate Professor Media Studies
95. Toni Pape / Associate professor Media Studies
96. Annet Dekker / Associate professor
97. Alex Gekker / Assistant Professor Digital Research Methods
98. Nadia Dresscher-Lambertus / ASCA / DMI
99. Bjorn Beijnon / PhD
100. Timothy Yaczo / Docent Literary and Cultural Analysis
101. Alireza Kenari / PhD Candidate
102. Diego Caguenas / Assistant Professor in Cultural and Ecological Theory
103. Suzanne Biewinga / PHD
104. Stefan Niklas / Philosophy Department
105. Geert Lovink / Professor of Art and Network Cultures
106. Selin Gerlek / assistant professor for philosophy of technology and politics
107. Monique Peperkamp / PhD candidate
108. Misha Velthuis / Lecturer Sciences Amsterdam University College
109. OpenTech (AUC) / Group of lecturers and students that cares about Open Standards, Free Software, and Open Data
110. Malvin Gattinger / Assistant Professor, ILLC
111. Noa Roei / Assistant Professor
112. Paul Baas / 
113. Jeroen de Kloet / Professor of Globalisation Studies, Department of Media Studies
114. Conrado A. Bosman / Assistant Professor, Faculty of Science
115. Sruti Bala / Associate Professor Theatre and Performance Studies
116. Sebastian De Haro / Institute for Logic, Language and Computation
117. Bernhard Rieder / Media Studies
118. Michael L. Thomas / Assistant Professor of Philosophy
119. Annet Dekker / Associate Professor Archival and Information Studies
120. Luca Bertolini / Professor of Urban and Regional Planning
121. Tarja Laine / Assistant Professor Film Studies
122. Vladimir Nedovic / Former PhD student
123. Timo Koren / Assistant Professor, Cultural Studies
124. Ivo Verhoeven / PhD Candidate
125. Jacob Engelberg / Assistant Professor of Film, Media, and Culture
126. Raul Inzaurralde / Research support library
127. Nathalie Dijkman-Atria / Director of the Amsterdam Law Hub
128. Lonneke van der Velden / Assistant Professor Global Digital Cultures
129. Frances Singleton / Head of Research & Innovation; Amsterdam Law Hub
130. Elio Attilio Baldi / Universitair Docent
131. Siân Brooke / Assistant Professor (MacGillavry Fellowship)
132. Alexandros Zakkas / Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis
133. Fernando van der Vlist / Assistant Professor
134. Rosa Menkman / PhD student
135. Maxigas / Co-PI of the critical infrastructure lab
136. Christa-Maria Lerm Hayes / Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art History
137. Dr. Corinne Cath / Fellow at the critical infrastructure lab UVA
138. Niels ten Oever / Assistant professor
139. Nicolas Mattis / Postdoctoral Researcher at ASCoR
140. Nanne van Noord / Assistant Professor at the Informatics Institute
141. Melika Ayoughi / PhD student
142. Giovanni Sileno / IvI/FNWI
143. Charles Dupont / PhD Candidate
144. Luc Marraffa / PhD Candidate
145. Joanna Strycharz / Amsterdam School of Communication Research
146. Erik Borra / Assistant professor in Journalism and AI
147. Paula M Helm / Media Studies
148. Terence Dores Cruz / Postdoctoral Researcher / Behavioral Ethics
149. Stefania Milan / Professor of Critical Data Studies
150. Christine Erb / Faculty of Humanities
151. Margot van der Goot / Senior assistant professor/ Department of Communication Science
152. Anushka Mittal / PhD Candidate, IViR
153. Julien Rossi / Lecturer
154. Wouter van den Bos / Associate Prof. Developmental Psychology
155. Petter Törnberg / AI, Culture & Society; ILLC
156. Gina Muuss / PhD student
157. Martijn Brehm / PhD candidate
158. João Nuno Bastos Fonseca / PhD Student
159. Abe Hofman / Assistant Prof Psychological Methods
160. Floris Roelofsen / Professor at ILLC
161. Gerard Wiegers / professor History of Religions
162. Valentina Carraro / GPIO
163. Damian Trilling / Department of Communication Science
164. Plixavra Vogiatzoglou / Postdoctoral researcher
165. Giovanni Cinà / Assistant Professor and Institute for Logic, Language and Computation
166. Carolin Ischen / Assistant Professor Communication Science
167. Ruud Knijn / Employee
168. Carolina Maurity Frossard / Assistant Professor
169. Jochen Peter / Communication Science
170. Andro Rilović / Faculty of Humanities
171. Alexander Savi / Assistant Professor
172. Yentl de Lange / PhD candidate
173. Hülya Altinyelken / Associate Professor, Anthropology
174. Lana Askari / Assistant Professor
175. Laurens Bakker / docent
176. Jeske de Vries / Communication manager
177. Jeannette Pols / Prof
178. Nicolas Legros / PhD Researcher
179. Anne de Jong / Associate professor anthropology
180. Kristine Krause / Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology
181. Annelies Moors / Professor emerita
182. Hasna A. Fadhilah / PhD
183. Yatun Sastramidjaja / Associate Professor Anthropology
184. David Faber Feenstra / Lecturer in Anthropology
185. Anouk de Koning / Professor, anthropology
186. Raquel Fernández / Professor at ILLC, Faculty of Science
187. Willemijn Krebbekx / Dept of Anthropology
188. Linus Mainka / PhD Candidate
189. Amade M'charek / Professor Anthropology of Science
190. Eelke Heemskerk / Professor of Political Networks
191. João Nuno Bastos Fonseca / PhD Student / FNWI / IvI
192. Claire Stevenson / Psychological Methods, UvA
193. Sanne Vrijenhoek / PhD Candidate
194. Micha Heilbron / Assistant Professor of Cognitive AI
195. Eric-Jan Wagenmakers / Prof.
196. Castor Brouwer / ASCA phd student
197. Arjan Vreeken / Informatics Institute
198. Roanne van Voorst / Assistant Professor in Anthropology
199. Rachel Spronk / Professor of Anthropology
200. Denny Borsboom / Professor of Psychological Methods
201. Nicolas Resch / Assistant Professor
202. Manideep Mamindlapally / PhD student
203. Anthony Guevara / PhD candidate
204. Bengi Zeybek / PhD Researcher
205. Silvia Goddijn / Business Developer SSH IXA UvA
206. L. Thomas van Binsbergen / Assistant Professor, Informatics Institute
207. Thomas Koopman / Research Software Engineer
208. Mateja Kunstelj / no affiliation
209. Alice Fleerackers / Assistant Professor of Journalism and Civic Engagement, Department of Media Studies
210. Daniel Mügge / Professor of Political Arithmetic, FMG
211. Artemis Song / PhD Candidate, IvI
212. Raquel Garrido Alhama / Assistant Professor
213. Annelieke Driessen / Department of Anthropology
214. Isabella Banks / Institute for Information Law
215. Charlotte van der Veen / PhD candidate
216. Gerben Ter Riet / Associate professor of epidemiology, Amsterdam University Medical Center
217. Alexandra Cosmina Rosca / Lecturer in Communication Science

Notes

1. This is a national version of a petition that was initiated by Jaap-Henk Hoekman, Bart Jacobs and Tamar Sharon from Radboud University Nijmegen (RUN) who launched an Open Letter/Petition that was quickly signed by more than 500 employees.
2. Rectores magnifici van de Nederlandse universiteiten: “Digitalisering bedreigt onze universiteit. Het is tijd om een grens te trekken”, de Volkskrant, December 22, 2019. https://www.volkskrant.nl/colu...
3. A. Meijer & J. van Dijck, “Universiteit, maak je los van Big Tech”, Trouw, February 23, 2025. https://www.trouw.nl/opinie/op... 
4. Because of the U.S. CLOUD Act. See e.g. https://iapp.org/news/a/questi... 
5. Pilot with NextCloud, supported by SURF. See: https://communities.surf.nl/pu...