Microsoft Stops Providing Technology Support to Israeli Military, Opposes Mass Surveillance of Palestinians

Recently, Microsoft made a shocking decision to terminate the Israeli military's access to its technology for mass surveillance. This decision came after an investigation by The Guardian revealed how Microsoft's technology played a key role in the Israeli military's monitoring of Palestinians. Specifically, Microsoft's Azure cloud platform was used to store and process large volumes of communication data from Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West Bank.

The Origin of the Incident

According to The Guardian’s exclusive report, Microsoft learned through an investigation that the Israeli military's Unit 8200 used its Azure cloud platform to intercept and analyze millions of phone calls from Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. These data contained highly sensitive personal information, which was used for military surveillance and targeting airstrikes. This revelation forced Microsoft to conduct an urgent internal review and eventually led to the decision to cut off certain technical support.

The surveillance project began in 2021 after a meeting between Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella and the then-commander of Unit 8200, Yossi Sariel. Following this meeting, Microsoft agreed to provide technical support to assist the Israeli military in data analysis and storage. Microsoft's cloud services became crucial in this operation, offering virtually unlimited storage capacity and powerful computational capabilities.

Microsoft's Response and Internal Pressure

After The Guardian exposed the surveillance program, Microsoft faced strong protests from its employees and investors over its ties with the Israeli military. This was particularly concerning because Microsoft's technology was used to aid airstrike operations during the Gaza conflict, raising serious humanitarian concerns. The United Nations recently concluded that Israel committed genocide in Gaza, a charge Israel denies, although many international law experts support this claim.

Faced with immense internal and external pressure, Microsoft launched an emergency investigation and decided to suspend its cloud storage and AI services for Unit 8200. Brad Smith, Microsoft's Vice President, sent an email to employees stating, “We do not provide technology for large-scale surveillance of civilians.” He emphasized that this principle has been a core value of Microsoft for over two decades.

The Scale and Impact of the Surveillance System

Further disclosures by The Guardian revealed that Unit 8200 used Microsoft’s Azure platform to build a new surveillance system capable of indiscriminately collecting and analyzing phone call data from large numbers of Palestinians. The scale of the project was so vast that it became known internally with the slogan, “One million calls per hour.” According to reports, the volume of intercepted calls reached up to 8000TB, and the data was stored in data centers located in the Netherlands.

After the investigation was exposed, Unit 8200 reportedly moved the data to other cloud platforms, including Amazon’s AWS. While Microsoft did not confirm whether the data was transferred to AWS, the event highlighted the key role that global tech companies play in supporting military operations, particularly in terms of data storage and processing.

Microsoft’s Business Decisions and Subsequent Impact

Despite Microsoft's decision to terminate certain technical support, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) remain an important customer for Microsoft, and they will continue to have access to other services. This decision not only raises concerns about the Israeli military's reliance on external tech companies to store sensitive data but also prompts broader questions about the relationships between multinational corporations and governments.

This marks the first time a major U.S. tech company has pulled back its support for the Israeli military since the Gaza conflict began. This move may have a broad impact on future partnerships between tech companies and military agencies, as it highlights the ethical and legal challenges that tech giants face, especially regarding privacy violations and mass surveillance.

Microsoft’s Follow-up Actions

Microsoft stated that it is continuing its internal review and has not fully ended all cooperation with the Israeli military. The company will further examine whether any violations of its service agreements occurred, particularly in relation to how its technology was used for military surveillance and civilian monitoring. One of Microsoft’s executives mentioned in an email to employees that, although the investigation is ongoing, initial findings have already supported The Guardian’s report.

For Microsoft, this decision may signal a more cautious approach in handling partnerships with military and government agencies, particularly when privacy and human rights are at stake. As global scrutiny over the social responsibility of tech companies increases, how Microsoft balances commercial interests with social responsibility remains a key issue to watch.

Microsoft’s decision to suspend key technical services for the Israeli military is not just the end of a technical partnership, but a reflection of the challenges faced by global tech companies when dealing with complex political and ethical issues. This incident serves as a reminder that tech giants must pay closer attention to the potential misuse of their technologies and find an appropriate balance between business interests and social responsibility.