18 arrested at Microsoft employee protest over company’s Israel contracts: Read statement from Police
At least 18 people were recently arrested at Microsoft’s Redmond campus during the second day of pro-Palestinian protests, a report claims. The group, which included current and former Microsoft employees, was protesting the company’s contracts to supply artificial intelligence technology to the Israeli military. According to a report by Komonews, the local police said that officers responded to a large gathering where protesters allegedly poured paint on a Microsoft sign, blocked a pedestrian bridge, and used stolen furniture to create a barrier. The group named “No Azure For Apartheid” claims the technology is being used to “surveil, starve and kill Palestinians.” In response, the tech giant said it is looking into the use of its Azure platform in Israel.However, the report doesn’t specify how many of the arrested protestors are current Microsoft employees. Police added that these individuals may face charges of trespassing, resisting arrest, obstruction, and malicious mischief. No injuries were reported at the latest protest, which took place a day after the same group demonstrated at Microsoft’s campus, but that ended without any arrests.
What Microsoft said about the arrests at its campus
In its latest statement, a spokesperson for Microsoft said, “Yesterday, approximately 35 protesters gathered and protested on the Microsoft campus. When local police officers informed them that this was not permitted on private property, they left. Today, the group returned and engaged in vandalism and property damage. They also disrupted, harassed, and took tables and tents from local small businesses at a lunchtime farmer’s market for employees.”Microsoft also added: “As we have made clear, Microsoft is committed to its human rights standards and contractual terms of service, including in the Middle East. The company announced last week that it is pursuing a thorough and independent review of new allegations first reported earlier this month about the purported use of its Azure platform in Israel.”“Microsoft will continue to do the hard work needed to uphold its human rights standards in the Middle East, while supporting and taking clear steps to address unlawful actions that damage property, disrupt business, or that threaten and harm others,” the company said last week.Tensions between Microsoft and some current and former employees have been rising after recent firings of staff who protested the company’s contracts. Reports have also linked Microsoft and OpenAI’s AI models to Israeli military targeting in Gaza and Lebanon, including a deadly 2023 airstrike. Microsoft has now hired a law firm to investigate claims that the Israeli military used its Azure platform for storing surveillance data on Palestinians.“Microsoft’s standard terms of service prohibit this type of usage,” the company noted in a statement shared last week, claiming that the report raises “precise allegations that merit a full and urgent review.”Previously, the Associated Press reported that Israel’s military uses Microsoft Azure for processing surveillance data tied to its AI targeting systems. Microsoft admitted its technology had military applications but said a prior review found no evidence it was used to harm people in Gaza—though details of that review were not disclosed. The company has now hired Covington & Burling to conduct a new investigation and has promised to share its findings once complete.
