Police officers arrested 18 people at Microsoft headquarters on Wednesday during worker-led protests as the tech company promised an “urgent” review of the Israeli military’s use of its technology during the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
Two consecutive days of protests at Microsoft’s campus in Redmond, Washington called on the tech giant to immediately cut its business ties with Israel in the area.
But unlike Tuesday, when about 35 protesters occupied a square between office buildings that had remained after Microsoft asked them to leave, protesters on Wednesday “resisted and became aggressive” after the company told police they were violating the Redmond Police Department’s order.
Protesters also splashed red paint, resembling the color of blood, over the landmark sign containing the company logo and the letters Microsoft.
“We said, ‘Please leave or you will be arrested,’ and they chose not to leave, so they were detained,” said police spokeswoman Jill Green.
Microsoft announced late last week that it had tapped a law firm to investigate allegations by the British newspaper The Guardian that the Israeli Defense Forces used Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform to store phone call data collected during mass surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
“Microsoft’s standard terms of service prohibit this type of use,” the company said in a statement released Friday, adding that the report raises “accurate allegations that deserve a full and urgent review.”
In February, the Associated Press revealed previously unreported details about the tech giant’s close partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, with the military using commercial artificial intelligence products, which skyrocketed nearly 200-fold after the deadly October 7, 2023, Hamas attack. The AP reported that the Israeli military is using Azure to transcribe, translate and process intelligence collected through mass surveillance, which can then be cross-checked with Israel’s internal AI-enabled targeting system.
Microsoft acknowledged the military applications, according to the AP report, but said a review commissioned by it found no evidence that its Azure platform and artificial intelligence technologies were used to target or harm people in Gaza. Microsoft did not provide a copy of that review or say who conducted it.
Microsoft said it will share the findings of the latest review after it is completed by law firm Covington Ne Burling.
The promise of a second review wasn’t enough to get an employee to run Azure for the apartheid group, which has been protesting for months against Microsoft supplying the Israeli military with technology used in its war against Hamas in Gaza. The group said Wednesday that the technology is “used to surveil, starve and kill Palestinians.”
Microsoft in May fired an employee who interrupted CEO Satya Nadella’s speech to protest contracts, and in April, fired two others who interrupted the company’s 50th anniversary celebration.
On Tuesday, protesters posted an online call for what they called a “worker’s intifada,” using language reminiscent of the Palestinian uprising against Israel’s military occupation that began in 1987.
On Wednesday, the police department said 18 people were wanted in custody “on multiple charges including trespassing, malicious mischief, resisting arrest and obstruction.” It was unclear how many were Microsoft employees. No injuries were reported.
Microsoft said in a statement after the arrests that it “will continue to do the hard work necessary to uphold its human rights standards in the Middle East, while supporting and taking clear steps to address illegal activities that damage property, disrupt businesses, or threaten and harm others.”
