Microsoft has interrupted Israeli’s Ministry of Defense access to some of its technologies and services after an internal survey that found that the Agency seemed to use its technology to store surveillance data on Palestinian telephone calls.
The technological giant announced on Thursday that it has decided to “stop and turn off” some subscriptions from the Israeli army. This affects subscriptions in storage of Azure clouds and some AI services.
“We do not provide technology to facilitate mass monitoring of civilians,” Microsoft Vice President and President Brad Smith wrote in a blog. “We have implemented this principle to every country around the world and have repeatedly insisted on it for more than two decades. That is why we publicly explained on August 15 that the formal terms of Microsoft’s service prohibit the use of our technology for mass surveillance of citizens.”
Microsoft informed Israel about its decision last week, according to The guardian.
The decision follows the continuing review of the issue by Microsoft, which began in August. The research caused a story in The guardian This reported that Unit 8200, the Elite Israel Military Intelligence Unit, used the Azure Cloud Storage to house data on phone calls acquired through the surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
In his blog, Smith also said that the company appreciates the Guardian’s original report. Smith wrote that without it, they would not know that he would consider the issue because of customer privacy rights, they could not have access to a client’s content.
“As employees, we all have a common interest in protecting privacy, given the business value it creates, ensuring that our customers can rely on our services with Rock Solid Trust,” Smith writes.
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The company said the revision was continuing, but refused to comment on TechCrunch on what was still under review.
Microsoft is under fire by both employees and strangers for his participation in Israel in the past year. Protests about Microsoft’s relationship with Israel broke out in the celebration of the company’s 50th anniversary in April. In August, several employees organized a seat in the Smith office, forcing a lock.
The company has been fired many employees In recent months for their activism on Microsoft’s contracts with Israel.
