Think out of the Cloud:  
Is your email and freedom of speech still secure? 

Recently, it was revealed that Microsoft deleted a user’s Outlook.com account and all associated emails — solely for political reasons. It happened without prior warning and without a legal order, raising an alarming question: 
Is your data — and your voice — safe when it’s in the hands of global cloud giants? 

A new reality for email senders 

Most Email Service Providers (ESPs) today are deeply integrated into the “big cloud” ecosystem like: 

• Microsoft: Outlook, Office 365, Exchange Online 

• Google: Gmail, Workspace, Cloud Platform 

• Amazon: SES, AWS hosting 

• Apple: iCloud Mail 

While these platforms offer convenience, there’s a downside: 
They are centralized, politically governed, and often lack transparency when making decisions about content and user accounts.  

What happened? 

Here’s a concrete example: 
A user reports that his Outlook.com address was deleted after sharing content that broke no laws but was considered “sensitive” in certain political contexts. 
Everything — from private emails to contacts and documents — was permanently deleted. 

And support? Non-existent. “Violation of terms” was all he received — the classic arrogant response from Big Tech, when they respond at all. This particular case received significant media attention. 

Why this matters for Email Service Providers 

As a sender of newsletters, transactional emails, or automated notifications, you depend on: 

• The ability to communicate freely 

• Receiving support and technical feedback 

• Ensuring your domains and IPs aren’t “shadow-banned” or deleted without notice 

If Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, or Apple can unilaterally shut down your sending account, you effectively lose both outbound and inbound communication — and with that, your digital voice. 

What should you do now? 

1. Choose ESPs outside of Big Tech
   Use providers like mySMTP, hosted within the EU and strictly compliant with GDPR. 
2. Own your email infrastructure

• Use your own domains and DNS with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC properly configured. You can test it on our free test tool test.smtp.ai

• Avoid relying on @outlook.com, yahoo.com, @gmail.com, and similar cloud-based sender addresses 

3. Implement backup solutions

• Always have a plan B — such as a secondary SMTP provider or offline archives of your contacts and campaigns 

Conclusion: The time has come to “Think Out of the Cloud” 

The cloud has given us flexibility — but also dependency. 
Freedom of speech, data sovereignty, and technological self-determination will define the next chapter of email infrastructure. 

Ask yourself: 

• Who controls your communication? 

• What happens if they decide you shouldn’t be allowed to communicate? 

• Are you satisfied with the current sending limits vs. the price you’re paying for your cloud solution? 

Ready to take back control? 

Consider ESP and SMTP solutions where you: 

• Own your domains 

• Control your IPs 

• Know exactly where your data is hosted 

• And can trust that your business-critical email won’t be silenced with a single click 

Need help migrating away from Big Tech or finding an independent SMTP/ESP provider? 
Contact us via support@mysmtp.com or via chat.