Microsoft Cuts Some Services to Israeli Military Unit Over Surveillance Concerns
Microsoft has stopped providing certain services to a unit of Israel’s Ministry of Defence after an investigation showed its technology was being used to carry out mass surveillance of people in Gaza.
Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, said using the company’s tools to spy on civilians broke the company’s rules. He added that this decision would not affect other work Microsoft does with Israel.
The Guardian, along with Israeli-Palestinian outlet +972 Magazine and Hebrew site Local Call, reported that the military unit used Microsoft’s cloud platform, Azure, to store and analyze a huge number of phone calls made by Palestinians. This information was then used in military operations in Gaza and the West Bank.
Microsoft confirmed parts of the report, including that the unit used large amounts of storage and AI tools. As a result, the company told Israel’s Defence Ministry it would shut down some of its cloud and AI services for that unit.
In a message to Microsoft employees, Smith said the company’s review is still ongoing and promised to share more details later. The move comes after protests from Microsoft staff who were upset about the company’s contracts with Israel.
The Guardian also reported that the military unit planned to move its data to Amazon’s cloud service, though Amazon has not commented.
Earlier this year, a UN expert warned big tech companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google’s parent company Alphabet that their business ties with Israel could make them complicit in war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank.
