The International Criminal Court (ICC) will switch its internal work environment away from Microsoft Office to Open Desk, a European open source alternative, the institution confirmed to Euractiv.
German newspaper Handelsblatt first reported on the plans. The switch comes amid rising concerns about public bodies being reliant on US tech companies to run their services, which have stepped up sharply since the start of US President Donald Trumpâs second administration.
For the ICC, such concerns are not abstract: Trump has repeatedly lashed out at the court and slapped sanctions on its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan.
Earlier this year, the AP also reported that Microsoft had cancelled Khanâs email account, a claim the company denies.
âWe value our relationship with the ICC as a customer and are convinced that nothing impedes our ability to continue providing services to the ICC in the future,â a Microsoft spokesperson told Euractiv.
Open Desk is developed by the German Centre for Digital Sovereignty of the Public Administration (Zendis), a publicly owned company.
Zendis is part of an EU-level organisation that four EU countries founded on Tuesday with the aim of building sovereign digital infrastructure.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) will switch its internal work environment away from Microsoft Office to Open Desk, a European open source alternative, the institution confirmed to Euractiv.
German newspaper Handelsblatt first reported on the plans. The switch comes amid rising concerns about public bodies being reliant on US tech companies to run their services, which have stepped up sharply since the start of US President Donald Trumpâs second administration.
For the ICC, such concerns are not abstract: Trump has repeatedly lashed out at the court and slapped sanctions on its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan.
Earlier this year, the AP also reported that Microsoft had cancelled Khanâs email account, a claim the company denies.
âWe value our relationship with the ICC as a customer and are convinced that nothing impedes our ability to continue providing services to the ICC in the future,â a Microsoft spokesperson told Euractiv.
Open Desk is developed by the German Centre for Digital Sovereignty of the Public Administration (Zendis), a publicly owned company.
Zendis is part of an EU-level organisation that four EU countries founded on Tuesday with the aim of building sovereign digital infrastructure.
