There is no magic button that the United States could push that would cut Europe off from the internet.
That's what Heidi Nystedt, Microsoft Finland's governmental affairs director, told newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet.
Some Finnish agencies and at least one ministry have plans to begin using US-based cloud services. But due to increasing uncertainty in Europe's relationship with the United States, some may be reconsidering the move.
Some observers, including Finnish cybersecurity expert Petteri Järvinen, have warned that Europe has left its information systems at the mercy of American companies.
Finnish MEP Aura Salla (NCP) has warned of risks that the US could swiftly cut Europe off from American web services, Svenska Yle recently reported.
But according to Microsoft's Nystedt, that is not the case.
"There is no 'kill switch'," Nystedt told the paper, saying that claims there is some method to cut off a region through a politically motivated decision in a short period of time are just not true.
In theory, the only way that could happen would be via an executive order, followed by a long legal process, Nystedt explained.
Furthermore, Microsoft's contracts include clauses that say the corporation would challenge such orders in court, the paper noted.
So, even if a court would agree with that kind of executive order, it does not mean that Europe would be technologically thrown back to the 1990s. Additionally, there are already backup plans in place with European service providers, if such a scenario were to take place.
The background of this topic stems from an incident surrounding the International Criminal Court.
According to Politico, an Associated Press report last spring alleged that Microsoft had "cancelled" the email of a prosecutor who "was directly targeted by a February executive order by US President Donald Trump that claimed the court had 'engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions' against the US and Israel."
But Microsoft's President, Brad Smith, said it was not involved in cutting off service to the ICC, "in any way", Politico reported.
Nystedt echoed such sentiments.
"Microsoft has never shut down any service due to political pressure. We have no backdoors and Trump does not have rule over Microsoft," she said.
Another worry stems from concerns that the US could access Europeans' emails — but that would also require a court order.
"No one can just call and ask for data. There must be a legal basis, regardless of whether it is the US or a European country that is asking. We can also challenge requests in court, and we have done so many times, both against Trump and [former US president Barack] Obama,
Päivi Räsänen goes to Washington
On Wednesday Finland's Christian Democrat MP Päivi Räsänen appeared before a House Judiciary Committee hearing at the US Congress in Washington DC. She was invited to speak about having faced incitement to hatred charges in Finland, over a number of statements she made about homosexuality.
The US judiciary's website said the hearing would "highlight how European online censorship laws, such as the European Union's (EU) Digital Services Act (DSA) and the United Kingdom's (UK) Online Safety Act (OSA), threaten Americans' right to speak freely online in the United States".
"I love my country. Finland is a democracy that is built on the rule of law and fundamental freedoms. These values matter deeply to me as a European and as a Christian," Räsänen said at the hearing, according to Helsingin Sanomat.
"More than six years ago, in 2019, I expressed my Christian beliefs about marriage and sexuality in a Twitter post. I directed my post to my church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, in response to their decision to participate in a parade — 'Pride' — which I believe contradicts our Christian faith," she continued.
"I added a picture of some scripture verses with the post that guided my perspective on this issue. I did so peacefully, without targeting or insulting anyone. For this exercise of my free speech, I was investigated by the police, I was interrogated for more than 13 hours, and I was charged with criminal hate speech," she said in a clip posted by the daily.
Her charges have been dismissed by two lower courts, but the case is still pending at Finland's Supreme Court, HS noted.
As he introduced her at the hearing, Republican US representative and committee chair, Jim Jordan, called Räsänen a "victim of European censorship", the paper noted.
Räsänen's case has also received full-throated support from the Christian organisation Alliance Defending Freedom International, which among other things, raised funds for her legal defence.
The international organisation has roots in Arizona, where it was founded more than 30 years ago. It opposes divisive issues including abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage and the criminalisation of speech. It has contended that hate speech laws are aimed at targeting people who do not share the state's views on those issues.
HS pointed out that the House Judiciary Committee is unable to make legally binding decisions or influence legislation in other countries. However, the body's hearings and recommendations are politically significant and can influence US foreign policy as well as debates about freedom of expression and human rights.
A checkout clerk's bad bets
While not a newspaper, an article by commercial broadcaster MTV was among the most-read on Thursday morning.
It recounted crimes by an apparent gambling-addicted checkout clerk at the discount department store chain Tokmanni.
The female clerk, who worked at one of the chain's outlets in North Savo, was found guilty of using more than 122,000 euros of the store's money on various forms of gambling.
She confessed to the crimes and apologised, claiming that her gambling problem was obsessive and addictive in nature.
The woman, who is in her mid-50s, had worked at Tokmanni for the past 20 years, and was in charge of the outlet's Veikkaus services, even as she dealt with her gambling addiction, MTV explained.
The company found out about the crimes after noticing peculiarities with its Veikkaus games. The retailer linked the woman to the crimes through the use of video surveillance, among other things.
According to MTV, the company handed police around 300 video recordings showing the woman operating the lottery ticket machine when there were no customers.
The firm's security chief testified that the woman made dozens of bets a day.
Based on the woman's personal Veikkaus account, she had lost more than 114,000 euros on the bets, and just barely made a profit of around 1,000 euros.
After finding her guilty of aggravated embezzlement, the local district court handed the woman a one-and-a-half-year suspended sentence and ordered her to 40 hours of community service.
She was also ordered to return 122,100 euros to Tokmanni. MTV reported that the court's decision is final.
