This is the story of how Unix users hacked the European data networks competition in the 1980s, by using and appropriating common resources for their own experimental and operational needs while planting the seeds of participatory digital culture, both within and outside of the European Union's tech policies frame, both in prominent roles and behind the scenes of the “standards wars”. I analyze how they were acknowledged among international computer networks, focusing on EUNET (1982-1992), a pioneering Internet provider in Europe. I show that Unix culture, beyond technical arguments, was reframed through their institutional relationships, when EUNET were courted by the EU tech programs to help develop a digital infrastructure for the knowledge sector. Eventually, the organization contributed but also profited from this alliance, before turning towards the new business of computerized telecom networks, illustrating the transfers between the knowledge institutions and the knowledge economy.