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NEW - Why Countries Are Quietly Ditching American Tech
Description
Ritesh Kotak explains why more countries are rethinking how dependent they are on American tech companies, and it has nothing to do with the quality of the products. He breaks down the operating system, application, and data layers that quietly tie everyday users to US servers and US law.
He walks through a real case where Microsoft had to cut off email access for sanctioned International Criminal Court judges, including a Canadian, not because Microsoft wanted to, but because US law required it. He also shares a smaller but telling example: a Canadian grocery business that had a two hundred dollar transaction blocked entirely because one item involved Iranian saffron, routed through a US payment processor.
If you have ever wondered what happens when your files, your software, and your accounts all run through servers in another country, this lays out exactly what is at stake.
Topics: tech sovereignty, US tech dependence, digital sovereignty, Microsoft sanctions, PayPal blocked transaction
GUEST: Ritesh Kotak | http://riteshkotak.com
Originally aired on 2026-08-13