Digital sovereignty—the ability for nations, organisations, and individuals to control their own digital future—is one of the key policy priorities of our time. This joint talk, shared between a representative from the Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA) and a team member from Mastodon, will explain how Digital Public Goods (DPGs) are a key building block for achieving greater digital sovereignty in the wake of geopolitical insecurity.

We will start by unpacking the term "digital sovereignty" and the role open source technologies and digital public goods play in it. We will then discuss the strengths and weaknesses of core EU policies that support the open source ecosystem, mandating interoperability and data portability as key measures to level the playing field and provide opportunities for open alternative solutions.

We will use Mastodon as a prime example of a globally recognised, federated DPG that challenges entrenched market powers, discussing practical pathways for seizing the opportunities EU policies provide. We aim to move beyond philosophical debates to offer concrete strategies for leveraging FOSS for the public good, helping to build and maintain a decentralised and democratically controlled internet infrastructure with sovereignty at its heart.