Honestly countries also fight corporations for power. GAFAM have been to threat to the powers in place and it's essentially a survival match. Countries do spy on their own citizens that's not news. Internet is a great tool for that.

What we are seeing is probably european countries trying to get rid of GAFAM and puting their own measures in place instead to fill the void, the void being the services, the information, the data the GAFAM were providing to said countries.

Germany, progressive? Have you ever lived there? I'm amazed they even use web browsers enough to notice now, compared to their fax machines.