Digital rights organization Open Rights Group (ORG) has called for the U.K. government to rethink its reliance on U.S. technology companies.

In a post shared to its website on January 5, ORG asked: “How, in a world of dependence on U.S. big tech vendors, from Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, through to Palantir, can the U.K. government ensure the ‘security and resilience of essential activities?’”

ORG cites cases including Microsoft allegedly cutting off its services to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the orders of the Trump administration when the court’s chief prosecutor lost access to his email address, though it should be noted that Microsoft has denied “ceasing or suspending its services to the ICC.” The ICC later decided to stop using Microsoft Office for its internal work environment.

Similar accusations have been levied in India, with Nayara Energy claiming the cloud provider cut its access to services, though in this case, they said it was due to Microsoft’s interpretation of European Union (EU) sanctions on Nayara, and not at the demand of President Trump. Microsoft declined to comment on this case.

ORG notes that these issues are already an “active policy concern” for European countries, such as Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Denmark, and likens the issue to the decision to remove Chinese hardware from networks.

The group goes on to suggest that the U.K.’s Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill could offer an opportunity to “scrutinise the government’s approach to digital sovereignty risks.”

It recommends that the U.K. ensure its essential services are not subject to “switch-offs or surveillance” and the government should avoid relying on hardware, software, and digital services that may be subject to foreign interference, adding that prioritizing this would “increase the ability of U.K. firms, including SMEs, to bid for and maintain government systems.”

A second reading of the bill was held on January 6, 2026.

Currently, bidding for government cloud contracts is done through the G-Cloud system. SDxCentral sister site DCD has previously looked into how competitive the cloud market is in the U.K., and was told by local provider Hyve Managed Hosting’s director, Jake Madders, that it is “very hard to win business on there.”

“You can find tenders in there, and there are ways of seeing what's available, but it's very difficult to compete - especially on paper. There are questions like ‘What's your turnover?’ and when that is versus Amazon’s turnover - if they are using that as a gauge to choose you - forget it.”

In July 2025, the U.K. government extended its G-Cloud procurement framework by six months, increasing the existing contracts by £1.65 billion ($2.2 billion) in total. It will now end in October 2026.

This week also saw Westminster launch the Government Cyber Action Plan to complement its Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, which includes a Government Cyber Unit to be led by the Government Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

As part of the £210 million ($282 million) investment, DSIT announced a Software Security Ambassador Scheme to drive adoption of its Software Security Code of Practice, with initial ambassadors include U.S. giants Cisco and Palo Alto Networks.