Microsoft’s E-Mail Suspension at the International Criminal Court — A Wake-up Call for Digital Sovereignty

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Background

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Incident

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What happened?

On 19 May 2025, it was reported that Microsoft blocked or suspended the email account of the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Karim Khan, following US-imposed sanctions against the Court. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0} This sparked debate about the dependence of state and international institutions on major cloud service providers headquartered outside their jurisdiction.

Stakeholders

• Affected institution: International Criminal Court (ICC)
• Service provider: Microsoft Corporation
• External actor: United States government (sanctions regime)
• Broader affected: Public authorities, educational institutions, organisations relying on cloud services for critical operations

Microsoft’s response

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Microsoft publicly denied fully suspending services to the ICC, stating that it remained in contact with the Court and that its services “were never terminated”. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1} The company announced increased investments in European infrastructure and a “European security program” in the wake of the incident. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

Legal / Governance Issues

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The incident highlights critical issues:

• Vendor dependency and lack of digital sovereignty for institutions relying on third-party cloud services
• Jurisdictional risk where a vendor subject to another state’s sanctions may affect service availability
• Transparency and continuity obligations for organisations hosting critical data or services externally

Consumer / Institutional Response

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Reactions included calls from European digital-sovereignty associations (e.g., OSBA) for alternatives to large US-based cloud providers. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3} Many organisations began reassessing cloud-service vendor risk, contractual fallback mechanisms and local or regional hosting options.

References

• Stefan Krempl, *“Criminal Court: Microsoft’s email block a wake-up call for digital sovereignty”*, heise online, 19 May 2025. Available at: https://www.heise.de/en/news/Criminal-Court-Microsoft-s-email-block-a-wake-up-call-for-digital-sovereignty-10387383.html (accessed 18 October 2025) :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}
• Stefan Krempl, *“Microsoft denies mail blockade at the International Criminal Court”*, heise online, 5 June 2025. Available at: https://www.heise.de/en/news/Microsoft-denies-mail-blockade-at-the-International-Criminal-Court-10429628.html (accessed 18 October 2025) :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
• *“Microsoft’s email shutdown of ICC prosecutor fuels EU fears of US tech blackmail”*, Euractiv, 28 May 2025. Available at: https://www.euractiv.com/news/microsofts-email-shutdown-of-icc-prosecutor-fuels-eu-fears-of-us-tech-blackmail/ (accessed 18 October 2025) :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}

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