Towards federated sovereignty?

Federated messaging services, traditionally considered ‘alternative’, are currently experiencing a surge in popularity that coincides with the development of digital sovereignty strategies by many European countries and even by European institutions. This article explores how the various technical properties of federated solutions (such as interoperability, self-hosting, portability and modularity) are currently being invoked and mobilized by institutional actors to further the goals of digital and infrastructural autonomy. Drawing on the case study of Matrix, a federated communication protocol, and its uses in several European institution projects, the article examines how developers and administrators of federated platforms approach the issue of the reuse of their services by government institutions. We also look at the implications of these shifts and reconfigurations for the definition and implementation of digital sovereignty.