On January 27, 2026, France announced it will ban Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex, and Google Meet from all government departments by 2027. In their place: Visio, a domestically developed video conferencing platform built by France's Interministerial Directorate for Digital Affairs (DINUM).
This isn't a minor IT upgrade. It's a statement about digital independence — and it reflects a broader European movement that will eventually reshape how schools and educational institutions choose their software.
Why France is making the switch
The official reasons are straightforward:
Security concerns: American platforms are subject to the US CLOUD Act, which allows US authorities to compel American companies to hand over data — even when it's stored on servers in Europe. A Microsoft executive admitted under oath in a French Senate inquiry in July 2025 that the company cannot guarantee data sovereignty to European customers due to this law.
Cost savings: France estimates it will save approximately €1 million per year for every 100,000 users who switch from commercial licenses to Visio.
Standardization: Currently, different ministries use different tools — Teams here, Webex there, Zoom somewhere else. This fragmentation creates interoperability problems and increases security exposure.
David Amiel, France's Minister for Civil Service and State Reform, put it bluntly: "We cannot risk having our scientific exchanges, sensitive data, and strategic innovations exposed to non-European actors."
France isn't alone
This announcement is part of a much larger European push for digital sovereignty:
In November 2025, the International Criminal Court in The Hague announced it would replace Microsoft Office with OpenDesk, a European open-source alternative. The decision came after the ICC's chief prosecutor was reportedly locked out of his Outlook email account — a stark reminder of how dependent European institutions are on American tech companies.
Denmark announced in mid-2025 that it would begin migrating government systems away from Microsoft toward open-source solutions. German states like Schleswig-Holstein have already made similar moves.
In November 2025, Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands established the European Digital Infrastructure Consortium to jointly develop sovereign digital tools.
Airbus, Europe's largest aerospace manufacturer, announced plans in December 2025 to migrate mission-critical systems to a fully sovereign European cloud, with a tender worth over €50 million launching in early 2026.
What this means for education
Government decisions tend to cascade into education. When France standardizes on Visio for public administration, French schools — especially public schools — will face pressure to follow suit.
The reasoning applies equally to education:
Student data is sensitive. Children's names, faces, voices, academic performance, and behavioral patterns are all captured by video conferencing platforms. The idea that this data could be accessible to foreign governments under the CLOUD Act is uncomfortable for many European educators and parents.
Schools are already navigating GDPR compliance. Using American platforms adds complexity — schools must rely on Standard Contractual Clauses and other legal mechanisms to justify international data transfers. European platforms eliminate this burden entirely.
Cost pressure is real. If French government departments can save €1 million per 100,000 users by switching away from commercial licenses, the same math applies to school districts managing tight budgets.
The Netherlands context
The Netherlands has been paying attention. In November 2025, the American IT services company Kyndryl announced its acquisition of Solvinity, a Dutch managed cloud provider. This came as an "unpleasant surprise" to government clients including the municipality of Amsterdam and the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security — organizations that had specifically chosen Solvinity to reduce dependence on American firms.
Proposals in the Dutch parliament now aim to ensure that at least 30% of government IT systems rely on Dutch or European cloud solutions.
For Dutch schools and tutoring institutions, the writing is on the wall: European alternatives aren't just nice to have — they're becoming strategically important.
What to look for in a European platform
If you're running an educational institution and thinking about these issues, here's what actually matters:
Where is the company incorporated? A European company under European law isn't subject to the CLOUD Act.
Where are the servers? EU-hosted infrastructure keeps your data under GDPR jurisdiction without the complexity of international transfers.
What's the privacy model? Some platforms track users extensively. Others minimize data collection. For education, less is more.
Does it actually work for teaching? Sovereignty means nothing if the platform can't do what you need. For tutoring institutions, that means proper breakout room monitoring, reliable video, and simple student management.
Where Simpleclass fits
Simpleclass is a Dutch company. Our servers are in the Netherlands and France — both EU member states. We're not subject to the CLOUD Act because we're not an American company.
We built Simpleclass specifically for European tutoring institutions and language schools. GDPR compliance isn't an afterthought — it's foundational to how we operate.
We don't track students for advertising. We don't sell data. We collect only what's necessary to make the platform work. That's it.
France's decision to ditch Zoom and Teams isn't just about government meetings. It's a signal that Europe is serious about digital independence. For schools and tutoring institutions, now is a good time to ask: where does my video platform actually stand?