European governments are reconsidering their reliance on American technology providers following a recent high-profile incident involving Microsoft and the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to a report from The New York Times.
Concerns grew sharply after U.S. President Donald Trump sanctioned Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, in retaliation for the court’s decision to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Following these sanctions, Microsoft disabled Khan’s email account, setting off alarm bells across European administrations regarding the risks of dependence on U.S.-based tech firms.
Casper Klynge, a former diplomat and an executive associated with Microsoft, described the incident as the “smoking gun” European officials had long anticipated. The event has spurred European leaders to consider alternatives to American software to safeguard their strategic independence. The ICC itself promptly shifted many of its employees to Proton, a secure email service based in Switzerland.
Highlighting the dilemma facing American tech companies, Klynge noted, “If the U.S. administration targets certain organizations, countries or individuals, the fear is American companies are obligated to comply.”
In response to the backlash, Microsoft indicated that it has updated internal policies to better safeguard customers in similar situations moving forward. The company also emphasized that it had not disabled the accounts of four ICC judges who were similarly sanctioned by Trump in recent weeks. Additionally, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently introduced a series of “sovereign solutions,” specifically tailored to protect European institutional clients and address international concerns around data security and technology sovereignty.
