- ICC replaces Microsoft Office software with German company openDesk
- This comes amid fears of US retaliation from the Trump administration.
- EU and ICC fear US technology could be hit with ‘kill switch’ via US foreign policy
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking to replace its internal working environments away from U.S.-made software over fears of reprisals from the U.S. administration.
The Microsoft software currently used by the Hague-based ICC will likely be replaced by Open Desk, an alternative German collaboration software that is open source, meaning the developers have chosen to publish the source code – thereby opening it up to scrutiny and often meaning that bugs and vulnerabilities are quickly detected by the community.
The move protects the ICC from further targeted sanctions by the US government for “transgressions against the United States and Israel” – in which the court’s judges and prosecutors have been threatened with travel bans and asset freezes.
Turn off the switch
In early 2025, ICC chief prosecutor Kamrin Khan, after being hit by sanctions from the Trump administration, was disconnected from his email service.
This action was believed to stem from Microsoft supporting US sanctions – although the company denied this, with a spokesperson saying: “At no time has Microsoft ceased or suspended its services to the ICC.” »
This has raised fears that US technology companies could flip a “circuit breaker” and scrap digital services at Trump’s behest – underscoring the need to become less dependent on US technology, with companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon dominating digital services and cloud markets in Europe.
Open Desk is created for public administrations by the German Center for Digital Sovereignty in Public Administration (Zendis) – a public company established with the aim of building a sovereign digital infrastructure for EU states.
Efforts have been made to reduce the EU’s dependence on the US, not only for digital services but also for hyperscalers – as Trump’s increasingly hostile and unpredictable foreign policy leaves allies exposed and seeking to develop their own infrastructure.
Via Handelsblatt newspaper (translated online)
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