US EditionMicrosoft employee protests lead to 18 arrests as company reviews its work with Israel’s military
Microsoft faces protests and employee arrests amid scrutiny over Azure's alleged role in Israeli military surveillance of Palestinians; military use of AI increased nearly 200-fold since Oct 2023, reports say.
- On August 20, 2025, Microsoft Corp.'s Redmond campus saw eighteen protesters arrested after they resisted trespass orders during a second-day rally demanding Microsoft cut ties with Israel.
- After reporting by The Guardian and the AP revealed the Israeli Defense Forces used Azure to store phone-call data from Palestinian mass surveillance, and military AI use surged nearly 200 times after Oct. 7, 2023.
- Microsoft said late last week it hired Covington & Burling LLP for an urgent review, noting an earlier internal review found no evidence Azure targeted Gaza, and it will share the findings after completion.
- Activists escalated by establishing a 'liberated zone' they named 'The Martyred Palestinian Children's Plaza' on East Campus Plaza, splattering red paint on a Microsoft sign and barricading with local small businesses' tables, acts Microsoft called vandalism and disruption.
- Investigations indicate Azure cloud computing platform processed intelligence that was cross-checked with Israel's AI-enabled targeting systems and reportedly helped select bombing targets in Gaza, which Microsoft warns would breach its terms of service.
113 Articles
113 Articles
Microsoft grapples with arrests, protests over Israeli military's use of its tech
Washington: Police officers arrested 18 people at worker-led protests at Microsoft headquarters on Wednesday as the tech company promises an “urgent” review of the Israeli military’s use of its technology during the ongoing war in Gaza. Two consecutive days of protest at the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington, called for the tech giant to immediately cut its business ties with Israel. Red paint splattered over company logo But unlike Tuesda…
Worker-Led Protests Challenge Microsoft's Controversial Israeli Military Contracts
Worker-Led Protests Challenge Microsoft's Controversial Israeli Military Contracts Tensions have escalated at Microsoft headquarters as worker-led protests address the company's controversial ties with the Israeli military. Defining a significant challenge for the tech giant, these protests criticize the alleged use of Microsoft technology in surveillance activities during the ongoing Gaza conflict.Demonstrators have called for an immediate seve…
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