Microsoft blocks Israel's use of its technology in mass surveillance of Palestinians

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/25/microsoft-blocks-israels-use-of-its-technology-in-mass-surveillance-of-palestinians

Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its technology in mass surveillance of Palestinians

Exclusive: Tech firm ends military unit’s access to AI and data services after Guardian reveals secret spy project

Middle East crisis – live updates
Harry Davies and Yuval Abraham
Thu 25 Sep 2025 11.03 EDT

Microsoft has terminated the Israeli military’s access to technology it used to operate a powerful surveillance system that collected millions of Palestinian civilian phone calls made each day in Gaza and the West Bank, the Guardian can reveal.

Microsoft told Israeli officials late last week that Unit 8200, the military’s elite spy agency, had violated the company’s terms of service by storing the vast trove of surveillance data in its Azure cloud platform, sources familiar with the situation said.

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The Guardian’s joint investigation prompted protests at Microsoft’s US headquarters and one of its European datacentres, as well as demands by a worker-led campaign group, No Azure for Apartheid, to end all ties to the Israeli military.

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The termination is the first known case of a US technology company withdrawing services provided to the Israeli military since the beginning of its war on Gaza.

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