Washington / London: US tech behemoth Microsoft has cut off Israel’s access to its cloud and artificial intelligence services after it found that the latter was using the tools for mass surveillance of Palestinians on a large scale. This is the first time a big American company has done this under human rights concerns.
In a statement, Microsoft confirmed that it had blocked a covert Israeli intelligence unit from its Azure cloud platform after evidence indicated the services were being misused to track Palestinian civilians. The company explained the military unit had breached its terms of service by leveraging AI and data analytics tools in ways that infringed on individual rights.
Brad Smith, Microsoft vice chair and president, said the move followed reports that came out in a British newspaper investigation. “We responded after considering reports credible to us that Israel military intelligence abused our services for surveillance that was against our principles and policies,” Smith stated.
Israel’s military Unit 8200 employed Microsoft’s Azure cloud and artificial intelligence technology to harvest Palestinians’ mobile phone call records, as per The Guardian’s report. The unit reportedly exploited the information to track individuals’ whereabouts, access personal details, and supply intelligence operations. The investigation had indicated that the technology was utilized in systematic tracking of Palestinian society.
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Rights organizations have long accused Unit 8200 of carrying out invasive online monitoring in the occupied territories, but Microsoft’s move is the first corporate reaction of its sort. Experts predict it has the potential to create a precedent for how technology corporations around the world deal with claims of abuse by governments and armies.
It was reported that Microsoft was under intense pressure from workers and investors, who feared the company’s association with Israeli military activities. The issue intensified after workers’ interest groups called for the cancellation of contracts related to the Middle East.
By cutting off access, Microsoft highlighted the increasingly contentious debate about the ethics of AI use in war zones. Monitoring groups contend that with lesser protections in place, sophisticated tools are used to further human rights violations.
For Palestinians, the move has been seen as a rare instance of accountability. To Israel, it has raised questions regarding the dependability of cooperation with the private sector on sensitive military missions.
Industry observers note Microsoft’s action reflects a larger trend of technology companies being pressured to balance business concerns with ethical considerations in politically charged areas.
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