Microsoft Bans the Word “Palestine” in Internal Emails
After days of disruption by pro-Palestine activists at its Build developer conference, No Azure for Apartheid said, Microsoft made it impossible to send emails containing "Palestine" or "Gaza."
Microsoft has quietly implemented a policy blocking employee emails containing the words “Palestine,” “Gaza,” or “genocide” on its internal Exchange servers, according to No Azure for Apartheid, a group of pro-Palestine Microsoft employees. The automated filter, which silently prevents such emails from reaching recipients was first detected on Wednesday—just after Microsoft’s Build developer conference faced repeated disruptions by the activist group.
Microsoft has been rocked by internal dissent over its collaboration with the Israeli military and government amid the ongoing assault on Gaza. The company has faced disruptions to its events, including protests from employees over its provision of cloud services and other critical infrastructure used by the Israeli military.
Now, the company appears to be tightening its grip on internal discourse. The terms “Israel” and “P4lestine” do not trigger a block, the group said. Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last week, Microsoft attempted to do damage control over its alleged involvement in the genocide. Ahead of the annual Build event, which is aimed at developers and tech enthusiasts from all over the world, the company issued a report claiming that an internal investigation found that Microsoft’s operations did not cause harm to civilians in Gaza.
Microsoft’s provision of technology to the Israeli Ministry of Defense (MOD) was first reported by Drop Site News, alongside The Guardian and the magazine +972, based on a trove of internal documents. The reports revealed that Microsoft actively pursued contracts with the Israeli defense ministry, offering them tailored proposals and significant discounts on cloud and AI services. These deals, negotiated and escalated over months, positioned Microsoft as a key technology provider during Israeli military operations in Gaza.
Microsoft did not dispute the authenticity of the documents or the reporting, but days before its major annual events released a statement saying that it conducted an internal review and “found no evidence that Microsoft’s Azure and AI technologies, or any of our other software, have been used to harm people.”
According to internal documents and emails reviewed by Drop Site, however, just days after the October 7, 2023 attack and the start of Israeli offensive in Gaza, Microsoft started pitching to the Israeli military, anticipating major military spending. Over the next few months, Israeli military became one of Microsoft’s top 500 global customers.
On Monday, No Azure for Apartheid said, an employee who disrupted CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote at the flagship Build conference was fired. On Tuesday, during a speech by Jay Parikh, head of CoreAI, a worker shouted, “Jay! My people are suffering! Cut ties with Israel! No Azure for apartheid! Free, free Palestine!” before being swiftly removed by security.
How about "Zionist entity" or "martyr" or "Free Speech" or "1st Amendment"?
Perhaps Microsoft wishes to be considered complicit in future Nuremberg trials on this genocide?
More reason to have stricter control and guard rails over these “tech-bros”. This reflects really bad on Microsoft. Including Bill Gates, his philanthropic history in helping get children vaccinated has no merit now. If he as one of the major owners/founder of Microsoft is happy to support this in the business. Even knowing that he's not part of the day to day running of the business, but he still has massive sway and pull in what happens at Microsoft. The current CEO Jay Parikh cares more about money and business interest than being a socially just/moral company. Poor form Microsoft. Poor Form. And super complicit. Also if Microsoft has nothing to hide than please Microsoft release your “internal investigation report” that found Microsoft’s operations did not cause harm to civilians in Gaza. I will bet significant money they will never release that report to the public. They know it will never pass public scrutiny.