89
How a French judge was digitally cut off by the USA (www.heise.de)
submitted 2 weeks ago by schizoidman@lemmy.zip to c/europe@feddit.org
10 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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.

top 10 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] shaun@lemmy.world 17 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

This is absolutely fucked up. The people that received arrest warrants against should clearly be in prison, yet he is the man that ultimately suffers. We live in a backwards world.

[-] observantTrapezium@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 weeks ago

Online bookings, such as through Expedia, are immediately canceled, even if they concern hotels in France.

I kinda wonder about that, hotel bookings usually require name and contact information only. So does Expedia and/or participating hotels blacklist all individuals with the name "Nicolas Guillou", or is it based on email address / phone number (that could easily be changed)?

[-] ZkhqrD5o@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

How can anyone believe they're the good guys when they are sanctioning individuals upholding human roghts?

[-] 30p87@feddit.org 3 points 2 weeks ago

Tbh - you can just not use american services. It's not hard ffs.

[-] Bogasse@lemmy.ml 11 points 2 weeks ago

I read an article yesterday that explains that it's still a bit hard :

  • he can't use his bank account in most foreign countries
  • he can't use most online marketplaces (non american ones may use american databases), plus they probably make you checkout through Visa
  • he says he can't have any credit card, this surprises me because I thought France had its own network "CB", but I guess one card must interface with several systems (Visa, Mastercard, CB usually?)

(French and paywalled, sorry) https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2025/11/19/nicolas-guillou-juge-francais-de-la-cpi-sanctionne-par-les-etats-unis-face-aux-attaques-les-magistrats-de-la-cour-tiendront_6654016_3210.html?search-type=classic&ise_click_rank=6

[-] Bogasse@lemmy.ml 7 points 2 weeks ago

Of course you can live with cash and relying on relatives when you really can find another solution. But this kind of intimidation on a judge is absolutely fucked up. (Right now it seems it is just a Monday in the USA, but in Europe we are not there yet)

[-] pousserapiere@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

Working for CPI he probably is living in the Netherlands, where there are no card-based alternatives to the usual emvco guys. Many shops accept only maestro cards (and vpay, sometimes)

[-] comrade_twisty@feddit.org 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I was on vacation in the Netherlands recently and the card acceptance at some stores that were not really catering to tourists was really confusing. I was at Albert Heijn twice where all my Swiss cards (including debit maestro) did not work at all, my Revolut card did not work either, only my US issued Capital One Visa card worked. Never had such issues anywhere else.

I really hope Wero and Twint will work out interoperability and finally start covering all of Europe.

[-] urandom@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Does TWINT even work anywhere outside of Switzerland?

[-] Moneyball@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago

Bit surprising tbh. Guess the machine must have been broken or something.

I live in NL and thus frequent AH. I can literally pay with any (virtual) debit and/or credit card incl Revolut. They accept it all.

AH is also the largest supermarket in NL, especially in the most touristic places of NL, it would be surprising if they wouldn’t facilitate internationals paying at their stores. They would lose out on millions per year.

In any case looking forward to Wero as well.

this post was submitted on 22 Nov 2025
89 points (100.0% liked)

Europe

8011 readers
1195 users here now

News and information from Europe 🇪🇺

(Current banner: La Mancha, Spain. Feel free to post submissions for banner images.)

Rules (2024-08-30)

  1. This is an English-language community. Comments should be in English. Posts can link to non-English news sources when providing a full-text translation in the post description. Automated translations are fine, as long as they don't overly distort the content.
  2. No links to misinformation or commercial advertising. When you post outdated/historic articles, add the year of publication to the post title. Infographics must include a source and a year of creation; if possible, also provide a link to the source.
  3. Be kind to each other, and argue in good faith. Don't post direct insults nor disrespectful and condescending comments. Don't troll nor incite hatred. Don't look for novel argumentation strategies at Wikipedia's List of fallacies.
  4. No bigotry, sexism, racism, antisemitism, islamophobia, dehumanization of minorities, or glorification of National Socialism. We follow German law; don't question the statehood of Israel.
  5. Be the signal, not the noise: Strive to post insightful comments. Add "/s" when you're being sarcastic (and don't use it to break rule no. 3).
  6. If you link to paywalled information, please provide also a link to a freely available archived version. Alternatively, try to find a different source.
  7. Light-hearted content, memes, and posts about your European everyday belong in other communities.
  8. Don't evade bans. If we notice ban evasion, that will result in a permanent ban for all the accounts we can associate with you.
  9. No posts linking to speculative reporting about ongoing events with unclear backgrounds. Please wait at least 12 hours. (E.g., do not post breathless reporting on an ongoing terror attack.)
  10. Always provide context with posts: Don't post uncontextualized images or videos, and don't start discussions without giving some context first.

(This list may get expanded as necessary.)

Posts that link to the following sources will be removed

Unless they're the only sources, please also avoid The Sun, Daily Mail, any "thinktank" type organization, and non-Lemmy social media (incl. Substack). Don't link to Twitter directly, instead use xcancel.com. For Reddit, use old:reddit:com

(Lists may get expanded as necessary.)

Ban lengths, etc.

We will use some leeway to decide whether to remove a comment.

If need be, there are also bans: 3 days for lighter offenses, 7 or 14 days for bigger offenses, and permanent bans for people who don't show any willingness to participate productively. If we think the ban reason is obvious, we may not specifically write to you.

If you want to protest a removal or ban, feel free to write privately to the primary mod account @EuroMod@feddit.org

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
federalreverse@feddit.org
poVoq@slrpnk.net
anzo@programming.dev
EuroMod@feddit.org