Digital independence thanks to open source

Lessons from the Microsoft case and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The temporary blocking of the email account of Karim Khan, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), has attracted worldwide attention - not because of any misconduct by Microsoft, but because of its structural dependence on US technology. The case is seen by many as a wake-up call for more digital sovereignty and impressively demonstrates why open source software is becoming increasingly important.

ICC

A case with political dimensions

In February 2025, the US government under Donald Trump imposed sanctions against the ICC after arrest warrants were issued against Israeli politicians for alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip. As a result of this political decision, Microsoft was forced to restrict Khan's email access - a step that was legally justified and necessary from the company's point of view.

Microsoft later confirmed that it had been in dialog with the ICC throughout the entire process. The service was not completely suspended, but Khan's personal account was blocked - a move that had far-reaching consequences.

Sole dependence on US providers as a risk

The Open Source Business Alliance (OSBA) sees this as a fundamental problem: governments, institutions and companies are often dependent on large US providers for central digital services such as email, cloud or software services. 

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However, these are subject to US jurisdiction - including the possibility of politically motivated sanctions. The OSBA concludes that one cannot rely on companies that are subject to foreign jurisdiction. After all, actors such as international courts could otherwise be digitally blocked by decisions of foreign governments, as is the case here.

Open Source Business Alliance - Federal Association for Digital Sovereignty e.V.

Open source as a strategic option

This demonstrates the strategic value of free software. Open source solutions can be operated independently, are customizable and are not subject to foreign control. Email servers, cloud systems or management platforms based on open source can be controlled by national or international organizations themselves - without dependence on commercial licenses or geopolitical risks.

A wake-up call - not only for governments

The case shows how fragile digital infrastructures can be when they are based on proprietary services. Digital sovereignty not only means freedom of choice for the provider, but also control over the technical basis itself. Open source offers the best starting point for this: transparent, jointly developed and independently usable.

For institutions with particularly high independence requirements - such as courts, authorities, universities or critical infrastructures - open source is not an ideology, but a strategic necessity.

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Enterprise Storage Solutions Team
Technik

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