Maltese MEP Raises Alarm Over US Use Of Big Tech To Pressure Global Institutions
By Yannick Pace
The United States’ ability to weaponise global tech platforms to enforce its foreign policy has sparked concern in Brussels, after a Maltese MEP raised alarm over the implications for international law and European digital sovereignty.
Labour MEP Alex Agius Saliba has formally questioned the European Commission about what he described as “the digital sabotage of the international rule of law” by the US, after it emerged that International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan lost access to his Microsoft email account due to US sanctions.
“This is not just about one case,” Agius Saliba said during a European Parliament intervention. “It’s about how Big Tech companies based in the US can be forced to comply with foreign policy decisions that directly impact European institutions and democratic principles.”
The sanctions stem from a February executive order issued by Donald Trump targeting the ICC and its chief prosecutor following arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. The order threatens any individual or organisation with penalties, including fines and imprisonment, if they provide financial, material, or technological support to Khan.
In his formal questions to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Agius Saliba asked whether the Commission has taken any diplomatic action over the sanctions, and whether it has engaged with Microsoft about the disruption of services to the ICC.
He also raised the broader risk to European and international institutions: “How does the Commission assess the risks to other European and international entities, both public and private, of falling victim to this example where a US Big Tech company like Microsoft withdraws essential digital services if their actions go against the wishes of the Trump administration?”
Agius Saliba further asked whether EU law provides any mechanism to compel Microsoft to resume services in such cases.
Speaking in Parliament, he warned that Europe’s reliance on non-EU digital infrastructure leaves its institutions vulnerable. “Almost all the cloud services we use every day are not based in the EU, and that puts us at risk to actions like Trump’s sanctions against the ICC,” he said.
He stressed that similar sanctions could be imposed on any country or official acting contrary to the political interests of the United States or other powerful governments. “Microsoft cannot take unilateral actions to stop the provision of services — but complications can easily arise when Big Tech originating outside of the Union would have to follow sanctions and orders from foreign governments impacting directly our digital infrastructure.”
His intervention adds to growing calls for the EU to strengthen its technological independence and rethink its reliance on US-based digital service providers, especially in politically sensitive areas.
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