No Azure for Apartheid protesters calling on Microsoft to cut all ties with the Israeli military. Image Credit: Todd Bishop /GeekWire File Photo
(The Post News) – On Thursday, Microsoft said it does not support its technology being used to spy on civilians and shut down some services in Israel after concerns its software was being used to monitor Palestinians.
Microsoft vice chair and President Brad Smith said that after concerns raised by multiple reputable journalistic investigations, they have decided to “cease and disable a set of services” used by the Israeli Ministry of Defence.
Journalists and Microsoft Ran Investigations
One of the outlets that ran an investigation was The Guardian, which reported that Israel’s military intelligence unit uses Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform to surveil and collect phone call data of Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. The report published in August said that Unit 8200 is responsible for this violation.
The tech giant subsequently announced that they were launching their own investigation starting August 15. This has led to the cancellation of “specific cloud storage and AI services and technologies, according to Smith. He also said the investigation is still ongoing but emphasised that they respect consumers’ privacy and did not create their technology to be used as spyware.
This is a win for the No Azure for Apartheid protesters, who have launched numerous campaigns calling for the services to be shut down for Israel.
An Israeli security official has said that this decision has not disturbed the “operational capabilities” of the military intelligence unit. Former Microsoft employee, Hossam Nasr, said that this is because the “vast majority of Microsoft’s contract with the Israeli military remains intact”.
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