Curated by Juan Ortiz-Freuler – July 10th, 2025
🇺🇸 🇪🇺[NEWS: US Sanctions lockout the International Criminal Court from their email?)
US announces sanctions targeting International Criminal Court (ICC), based in The Hague (Feb 6): “The ICC has no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel, as neither country is party to the Rome Statute or a member of the ICC. Neither country has ever recognized the ICC’s jurisdiction, and both nations are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war.” https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/imposing-sanctions-on-the-international-criminal-court/
Several outlets reported the ICC lost access to Microsoft email following the sanctions:
AP:”Microsoft blocked Khan’s ICC email account. His bank accounts were frozen. Some NGOs that support war crimes investigations stopped working with the court entirely.” https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/best-of-the-week/second-winner/2025/ap-exclusive-exposed-how-trump-sanctions-have-halted-the-work-of-the-international-criminal-court/
NLTimes:”Microsoft’s recent decision to block access to the email account of International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan is raising urgent questions in the Netherlands about the country’s deep reliance on American technology companies, de Volkskrant reports. The move followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s sanctions against the ICC—an escalation triggered by arrest warrants targeting, among others, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The blocked access, enforced by Microsoft, means Khan can no longer read messages sent to his official account. The decision, directly tied to U.S. foreign policy, reportedly underscores the vulnerability of Dutch public institutions that depend on American tech infrastructure.“ https://nltimes.nl/2025/05/20/microsofts-icc-email-block-triggers-dutch-concerns-dependence-us-tech
–
Microsoft denies cutting access to ICC email (June 4)l Politico + creates
“Kill-switch-Shield” (?):”Microsoft did not stop or suspend its services to the International Criminal Court, the company’s President Brad Smith said, following reporting that it canceled the email address of the court’s chief prosecutor targeted by American sanctions.”
Microsoft declined to comment further in response to questions regarding the exact process that led to Khan’s email disconnection, and exactly what it meant by “disconnection.” The ICC declined to comment.
However, German business magazine WirtschaftsWoche reported Tuesday that Microsoft’s lawyers have now reached the view that it merely provides a technical platform and that its customers decide whether to give their employees access to its services. Microsoft would no longer intervene in scenarios similar to the ICC case, WirtschaftsWoche wrote.”
🇺🇸[OPINION:’Kill Switch Shield’ and the Recurring Erosion of Trust in US Tech]
“For decades, government anxieties regarding the internet centered on data “pulls” (mass surveillance programs siphoning information) from sovereign states and data “pushes” (flooding nations with targeted influence campaigns). In the emerging internet governance era, the focus is on data cuts: when governments and companies get cut off from the network, unable to access their information or contacts.”
“While the Snowden revelations triggered the “Privacy Shield” response, companies like Microsoft are now proposing what amounts to a “Kill-Switch Shield.” This strategy aims to resolve disputes by altering governance structures, as opposed to the code or ownership. Such solutions require trust that the governance mechanisms will not be overridden by those who control the underlying levers of power. However, the successful legal challenge to Privacy Shield in 2020, and the ongoing legal challenges to its successor frameworks as of 2023, suggest that the trust deficit runs deep,”
https://www.techpolicy.press/kill-switch-shield-and-the-recurring-erosion-of-trust-in-us-tech
🇺🇸🤖🇵🇸 [NEWS: US extends sanctions onto UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese following report stating US corporate complicity in genocide]
US announces sanctions targeting Albanese, UN (July 9): “Today, I am imposing sanctions on Francesca Paola Albanese… Albanese has directly engaged with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of those two countries.
She has recently escalated this effort by writing threatening letters to dozens of entities worldwide, including major American companies across finance, technology, defense, energy, and hospitality, making extreme and unfounded accusations and recommending the ICC pursue investigations and prosecutions of these companies and their executives. We will not tolerate these campaigns of political and economic warfare, which threaten our national interests and sovereignty.” https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/07/sanctioning-lawfare-that-targets-u-s-and-israeli-persons/
Report by Francesca Albanese (UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967) details role of tech companies (July 7): “Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon grant Israel virtually government-wide access to their cloud and AI technologies, enhancing data processing, decision-making and surveillance/analysis capacities.[100] In October 2023, when Israel’s internal military cloud overloaded,[101] Microsoft Azure and Project Nimbus Consortium stepped in with critical cloud and AI infrastructure.[102] Their Israel-located servers ensure data sovereignty and a shield from accountability,[103] under favourable contracts offering minimal restrictions or oversight.[104] In July 2024, an Israeli colonel described cloud tech as “a weapon in every sense of the word”, citing these companies.”
Video of discussion regarding the tech element: https://x.com/zeteo_news/status/1943023589277757505
Other reactions:
Economists, including Yanis Varoufakis and Thomas Picketty sing letter of support: https://zeteo.com/p/exclusive-top-economists-back-francesca
Petitions: https://www.bigtechfuelsgenocide.com/
🇩🇰🔓🇪🇺 [NEWS: Denmark embraces open source to avoid US companies]
“Denmark wants to replace Windows and Office with Linux and LibreOffice
The ministry aims to gain greater control over software updates, data storage, and security while avoiding vendor lock-in. This effort is not solely about cutting costs, although reduced licensing fees are expected to yield financial benefits.”
🇪🇺🍏 [NEWS: Apple pushes back against EU fines]
“Apple has launched an appeal against an “unprecedented” €500m (£430m) fine imposed by the EU on the company, in the latest clash between US tech companies and Brussels.
The iPhone maker accused the European Commission – the EU’s executive arm – of going “far beyond what the law requires” in a dispute over its app store.”
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/07/apple-appeals-eu-fine-app-store
🇨🇦💰 [NEWS: Canada ditches planned digital services tax in rapprochement with the US]
“The move was successful for Ottawa, with the White House saying that trade talks would resume immediately. It was also cheered by the tech industry, which has lambasted digital services taxes as “unfair” and “discriminatory.” But experts say Canada’s move could put pressure on other nations to follow suit and rescind their tech taxes.“
🇧🇷🧱[NEWS: BRICS statement on AI & Sovereignty]
“Digital Sovereignty and the Right to Development are Central to Global AIGovernance. We firmly support the right of all countries to harness the benefits of the digital economy and emerging technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence,while upholding fundamental rights, to establish their own regulatory frameworkswithin their jurisdictions, to develop capacities in AI research, foster technological autonomy and innovation, ensure data protection, and promote their own digital economy, by enhancing digital infrastructure, fostering local talent, and ensuring safety and security of their citizens from AI risks”
https://cyberbrics.info/brics-leaders-statement-onthe-global-governance-of-artificial-intelligence
🇧🇷🧱[NEWS: Trump threatens extra 10% tariffs on BRICS-aligned countries]
“In a joint statement from the opening of the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro released on Sunday afternoon, the group warned the rise in tariffs threatened global trade, continuing its veiled criticism of Trump’s tariff policies.
Hours later, Trump warned he would punish countries seeking to join with the grouping.
“Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.”
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/leaders-growing-brics-group-gather-rio-summit-2025-07-06
🌐 [OPINION: Will the US vacuum be filled?]
“The US retreat from global governance has already been substantial, creating space for a remaking of that order. Given this fact, plus the fraying of nerves among so many US allies and partners though Trump’s tariff policy, the question has to be asked: why aren’t Washington’s rivals making more of this moment?
It seems that the ending of one international order does not necessarily beget the sudden arrival of another in its wake. The vacuums created by the US’s sudden retreat from multilateralism and global governance will not be automatically filled by others.
[…]
The old order, undergirded by a globally engaged US, is crumbling away quickly. It almost certainly cannot be rebuilt. Other countries are waiting to see how things will develop post Trump, and it remains to be seen which countries and groups of countries will be bold enough to seize the fresh opportunities that are opening up.“
https://www.chathamhouse.org/2025/06/can-us-retreat-global-governance-be-exploited-other-powers
☁️🇨🇦☁️ [OPINION: Canada should build its own cloud infrastructure]
“Instead of simply encouraging the buildout of a private Canadian cloud, the government should invest in the expansion of a public cloud—built and run by a Crown corporation with public financing to serve government needs, but potentially to expand beyond that too. The government already has data centres of its own, but in recent decades it’s more often looked to the private sector to supply more of its computational needs instead of developing in-house capacities as it did with older forms of information technology.”https://www.policyalternatives.ca/news-research/canada-should-build-public-cloud-infrastructure-rather-than-relying-on-u-s-tech-giants/
[BOOK: The Non-Aligned World Striking Out in an Era of Great Power Competition]
In recent years, the number of countries embracing this venerable approach to foreign policy has increased exponentially, making it a force to be reckoned with in world affairs. The war in Ukraine, the expansion of the BRICS group, and the conflict in Gaza have given a special impetus to its rise in a new form: Active Non-Alignment (ANA). This has gone hand-in-hand with the growing power and influence of the Global South in world politics.
In this agenda-setting book, Jorge Heine, Carlos Fortin and Carlos Ominami, explain the origins, dynamics and significance of ANA, for the future of world order. Far from a transitory expression of the current state of affairs, they argue that ANA is here to stay. It provides a powerful guide to action and a fine-tuned compass for the Global Majority, that is, the countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, to strike out and prioritize their national interests, whilst navigating the perilous waters of a troubled world in the throes of change.
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