Microsoft has cut off the Israel Ministry of Defense’s access to some of its tech and services after an internal investigation found the organization appeared to be using its tech to store surveillance data on phone calls made by Palestinians.
The tech giant announced on Thursday that it made the decision to “cease and disable” certain subscriptions from the Israeli military. This affects subscriptions to Azure cloud storage and certain AI services.
“We do not provide technology to facilitate mass surveillance of civilians,” Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith wrote in a blog post. “We have applied this principle in every country around the world, and we have insisted on it repeatedly for more than two decades. This is why we explained publicly on August 15 that Microsoft’s standard terms of service prohibit the use of our technology for mass surveillance of civilians.”
The decision follows Microsoft’s ongoing review of the matter, which started in August. The investigation was sparked by a story in The Guardian that reported that Unit 8200, the elite Israel military intelligence unit, was using Azure cloud storage to house data on phone calls obtained through the surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
techcrunch.com
The tech giant announced on Thursday that it made the decision to “cease and disable” certain subscriptions from the Israeli military. This affects subscriptions to Azure cloud storage and certain AI services.
“We do not provide technology to facilitate mass surveillance of civilians,” Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith wrote in a blog post. “We have applied this principle in every country around the world, and we have insisted on it repeatedly for more than two decades. This is why we explained publicly on August 15 that Microsoft’s standard terms of service prohibit the use of our technology for mass surveillance of civilians.”
The decision follows Microsoft’s ongoing review of the matter, which started in August. The investigation was sparked by a story in The Guardian that reported that Unit 8200, the elite Israel military intelligence unit, was using Azure cloud storage to house data on phone calls obtained through the surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Microsoft cuts cloud services to Israeli military unit over Palestinian surveillance | TechCrunch
The investigation was sparked by a story in The Guardian that reported that Unit 8200, the elite Israel military intelligence unit, was using Azure cloud storage to house data on phone calls obtained through the surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
techcrunch.com
