The International Criminal Court (ICC) wants to become independent of technology from the USA – for fear of reprisals from Donald Trump, Handelsblatt has learned. The institution in The Hague wants to replace the Microsoft software currently used on workstations with OpenDesk.

According to Handelsblatt, the decision is to be seen against the backdrop of sanctions by the current US administration under President Donald Trump against employees such as Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan. Microsoft simply blocked his email access. He therefore had to switch to the Swiss email service Proton. Since the ICC is highly dependent on service providers like Microsoft, its work is being paralyzed, it was stated in May.

Furthermore, the US government in Washington is examining further measures against the International Criminal Court, Handelsblatt further reports. This could also significantly restrict the institution's ability to work.

Achieving Digital Sovereignty

The OpenDesk software is developed by the Center for Digital Sovereignty (Zendis), a federal company. Its task is to help resolve critical dependencies on individual technology providers.

At the International Criminal Court, it's “only” about 1800 workstations that are to be freed from US dependency. However, Handelsblatt sees this as an indication that geopolitics is increasingly revolving around technology. Businesses and politicians recognize the dependence on US digital corporations as a problem, especially regarding the fact that the USA uses technology as a means of pressure.

The ICC is not alone in these ambitions. For example, the Public Health Service wants to use OpenDesk, and the German Armed Forces has a framework agreement with Zendis has concluded a framework agreement on “sovereign communication and collaboration solutions” such as OpenDesk.

(dmk)