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Displaced Palestinians, fleeing northern Gaza from the Israeli military. Photo: Reuters
Microsoft disabled some use of its software by the Israeli military after an investigation spurred by news reports that the company’s products were involved in the mass surveillance of civilians.
The world’s largest software maker has faced protests by employees and media scrutiny over concerns that its software is being used to harm civilians in the war in Gaza. Microsoft said it found some evidence in reporting from the Guardian newspaper that data related to mass surveillance was being stored on Microsoft cloud servers.
The newspaper and other news organizations reported that Israel’s military intercepted millions of Palestinian mobile phone calls, stored them on Microsoft servers and used the data to select bombing targets in Gaza.
The Israel Ministry of Defense has been informed “of Microsoft’s decision to cease and disable specified IMOD subscriptions and their services, including their use of specific cloud storage and AI services and technologies,” Microsoft president Brad Smith said on Thursday in a blog post. The company’s rules bar customers from using its products for mass surveillance of civilians, he added.
Displaced Palestinians, fleeing northern Gaza from the Israeli military. Photo: Reuters
Today’s News in 90 Seconds – September 25th
Microsoft employees and outside activists have been protesting against Microsoft’s work with Israel’s military for nearly a year. In August, several protesters occupied Mr Smith’s office and were arrested.
A full review of Microsoft’s work with Israel is ongoing, Mr Smith wrote in the blog. “This does not impact the important work that Microsoft continues to do to protect the cybersecurity of Israel and other countries in the Middle East,” he said.