Microsoft employee protests lead to 18 arrests as company reviews its work with Israel’s military

Police officers arrested 18 individuals at worker-led protests at Microsoft headquarters Wednesday as the tech company guarantees an “urgent” overview of the Israeli military’s use of its expertise through the ongoing struggle in Gaza.

Two consecutive days of protest on the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington referred to as for the tech big to instantly reduce its enterprise ties with Israel.

But in contrast to Tuesday, when about 35 protesters occupying a plaza between workplace buildings left after Microsoft requested them to go away, the protesters on Wednesday “resisted and became aggressive” after the company advised police they have been trespassing, in accordance to the Redmond Police Department.

The protesters additionally splattered crimson paint resembling the colour of blood over a landmark signal that bears the company brand and spells Microsoft in massive grey letters.

(*18*) mentioned police spokesperson Jill Green.

Microsoft late final week mentioned it was tapping a regulation agency to examine allegations reported by British newspaper The Guardian that the Israeli Defense Forces used Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform to retailer cellphone name knowledge obtained by means of the mass surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

“Microsoft’s commonplace phrases of service prohibit this sort of utilization,” the company said in a statement posted Friday, adding that the report raises “precise allegations that merit a full and urgent review.”

In February, The Associated Press revealed previously unreported details about the tech giant’s close partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, with military use of commercial artificial intelligence products skyrocketing by nearly 200 times after the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. The AP reported that the Israeli military uses Azure to transcribe, translate and process intelligence gathered through mass surveillance, which can then be cross-checked with Israel’s in-house AI-enabled targeting systems.

Following The AP’s report, Microsoft acknowledged the military applications but said a review it commissioned found no evidence that its Azure platform and artificial intelligence technologies were used to target or harm people in Gaza. Microsoft did not share a copy of that review or say who conducted it.

Microsoft said it will share the latest review’s findings after it’s completed by law firm Covington & Burling.

The promise of a second review was insufficient for the employee-led No Azure for Apartheid group, which for months has protested Microsoft’s supplying the Israeli military with technology used for its war against Hamas in Gaza. The group said Wednesday the technology is “being used to surveil, starve and kill Palestinians.”

Microsoft in May fired an employee who interrupted a speech by CEO Satya Nadella to protest the contracts, and in April, fired two others who interrupted the company’s 50th anniversary celebration.

On Tuesday, the protesters posted online a call for what they called a “worker intifada,” using language evoking the Palestinian uprisings against Israeli military occupation that began in 1987.

On Wednesday, the police department said it took 18 people into custody “for multiple charges, including trespassing, malicious mischief, resisting arrest, and obstruction.” It wasn’t clear how many were Microsoft employees. No injuries were reported.

Microsoft said in a statement after the arrests that it “will proceed to do the arduous work wanted to uphold its human rights requirements within the Middle East, whereas supporting and taking clear steps to tackle illegal actions that harm property, disrupt enterprise or that threaten and hurt others.”