cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/55550318
The extent of dependence on the USA in the digital sector is currently being experienced by a French judge. Nicolas Guillou, one of six judges and three prosecutors of the International Criminal Court (ICC), was sanctioned by the USA in August. He described his current situation as a digital time travel back to the 1990s, before the internet age, in a recent interview.
The reason for the US sanctions are the arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. They were indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the context of the destruction of the Gaza Strip. The USA condemned this decision by the court, whereupon the US Treasury Department sanctioned six judges and three prosecutors.
Digitally excluded from almost everything In Guillou’s daily life, this means that he is excluded from digital life and much of what is considered standard today, he told the French newspaper Le Monde. All his accounts with US companies such as Amazon, Airbnb, or PayPal were immediately closed by the providers. Online bookings, such as through Expedia, are immediately canceled, even if they concern hotels in France. Participation in e-commerce is also practically no longer possible for him, as US companies always play a role in one way or another, and they are strictly forbidden to enter into any trade relationship with sanctioned individuals.
Insane how US-centric the internet is, even in Europe, separation by 4500km of ocean isn’t enough loosen the grasp of America, sad.
Paypal, Expedia, Amazon . . . . . it’s not just that we’ve given our digital lives over to American companies, but that we’ve given them away at all. It’s too late, when our likes and dislikes are stored in some datacenter to be sold to the highest bidder . . . . Snowden’s hopes are just dust in the wind at this point . . .