Calls for digital alternatives after Microsoft, banks cave to Trump and block ICC chief prosecutor

UK banks as well as US software giant target Khan after Trump’s sanction order to protect genocidal Israel

Software giant Microsoft’s decision to immediately give in to US president Donald Trump’s assault on the International Criminal Court (ICC) by blocking ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s access to his email accounts has led to fierce criticism for the company and calls for the urgent development of digital alternatives that are not in thrall to US autarchs. UK banks also caved to Trump’s February executive order declaring sanctions on the ICC, in an attempt to protect Israeli war criminals and their US enablers, and blocked Khan’s accounts – presumably for fear of jeopardising US investments despite Trump having no UK jurisdiction.

The AP news agency has reported that the court has been virtually paralysed in its work, in part because of its heavy use of Microsoft systems and other US-based services. Khan was reportedly forced to switch his email to Swiss provider Proton. Some ICC employees are said to have emptied their US bank accounts completely to avoid the risk of them being frozen.

According to the German Heise media group, the Open-Source Business Alliance (OSBA) – also known as the Federal Association for Digital Sovereignty called for urgent action from European governments to prevent the US and its companies being able to exert such a stranglehold in future:

…considers Microsoft’s actions to be “unprecedented in this context and with this impact”. OSBA Chairman Peter Ganten emphasizes: The sanctions against the criminal court ordered by the USA and implemented by the software giant “must be a wake-up call for all those responsible for the secure availability of state and private IT and communication infrastructures”. They emphasized: “We cannot rely on companies that are not under our jurisdiction.”

According to Ganten, there is therefore an “urgent need for alternatives that we can control and shape”. The advocate of free software therefore believes that the new German government must “now implement this at full speed”. The black-red alliance has stated in its coalition agreement: “Our digital policy is geared towards sovereignty.” This is about “power politics”. What is needed is a “digitally sovereign Germany”. Alongside Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger (both CDU) also emphasized this aspect.

Within weeks of Khan obtaining ICC arrest warrants for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant – which triggered Trump’s sanctions – Khan was accused of sexual harassment. He has temporarily suspended his office after instigating an investigation into the allegations.

Trump continues to aid Israel’s genocide and other war crimes against two million Palestinians in Gaza, which have already killed and maimed hundreds of thousands of innocents, mostly women and children.

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