Microsoft is facing scrutiny following reports that its internal exchange servers are blocking emails containing words such as “Palestine,” “Gaza,” and “genocide.” This quiet act of censorship from the company blocks the emails containing these words from being delivered to the recipient on their server. Interestingly, variations such as “lsrael” or “P4lestine” seem to bypass the system and don’t trigger a block.
This issue was brought to light by No Azure for Apartheid, a group of pro-Palestinian employees at Microsoft. Most criticism against Microsoft’s actions is coming from their own employees. An employee who interrupted CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote address at the flagship build conference was fired, according to a statement released by No Azure for Apartheid. When CoreAI CEO Jay Parikh spoke on Tuesday, one employee yelled, “Jay! My people are suffering! Cut ties with Israel! No Azure for apartheid! Free, free Palestine!” before security quickly dragged them away.
Previously Microsoft had garnered backlash for having alleged ties with the Israeli military. According to Drop Site News, Microsoft actively solicited contracts with the Israeli Defence Ministry, presenting them with customised offers and significant savings on cloud and AI services. Microsoft was positioned as a major technology supplier during Israeli military operations in Gaza due to these agreements, which were negotiated and extended over several months.
Though Microsoft attempted to address the concerns, claiming there is no evidence, their recent actions say otherwise. Musician Brian Eno, popularly known for the startup chime for Windows 95, also condemned the company. He took to Instagram to say; “I gladly took on the [Windows 95] project as a creative challenge and enjoyed the interaction with my contacts at the company. I never would have believed that the same company could one day be implicated in the machinery of oppression and war.”
