Protesters set up temporary encampment at Microsoft to pressure company on Israel contracts
Protesters took over part of Microsoft's Redmond, Wash., campus for more than an hour Tuesday — escalating their efforts to pressure the company to stop providing technology to the Israeli government and military.
Members of the No Azure for Apartheid group, which includes current and former Microsoft employees, allege that the company's technology is being used in the surveillance, starvation and killing of Palestinians in Gaza.
Microsoft has said it complies with its human rights commitments, and that its contracts with Israel's Ministry of Defense are standard commercial agreements, governed by its terms of service and AI Code of Conduct.
The protesters created what they called a 'Liberated Zone' in the plaza of the company's East Campus, in front of the Microsoft sign, pitching tents and setting up a 'negotiations table' with a banner that read, 'Microsoft Execs, Come to the Table.' The space was filled with shrouds symbolizing the dead in Gaza, and a large plate reading, 'Stop Starving Gaza.'
'Regardless of your beliefs, regardless of whether or not your work today actually supports Israel, know that Microsoft's money does include blood money,' said one of the speakers at the protest, Julius Shan, a software engineer who said he has worked at Microsoft for nearly five years.
A smattering of Microsoft employees looked on from the periphery as security guards and police arrived. One employee who was watching nearby said he empathized with the message but not the approach.
'This isn't going to change anything,' said the employee, who did not give his name. 'It's just going to annoy the people that are here.'
The 'Liberated Zone' was in place for more than an hour on Microsoft's Redmond campus.
Initially, the protesters appeared to be preparing for an extended encampment, reminiscent of student-led protests at universities during the 2023-24 academic year.
In a press release shortly after the action began, the group said it was renaming the plaza 'The Martyred Palestinian Children's Plaza,' and offered interviews at the 'Anas Al-Sharif Media Tent,' named after a Palestinian journalist killed in Gaza last week.
However, the group took down the encampment and moved to a nearby public sidewalk after City of Redmond Police told them they were trespassing on private property and would be subject to arrest.
Microsoft has not issued a public statement about the latest protest. The company has said in past statements that it does not permit its technology to be used for unlawful surveillance or human rights abuses.
Earlier this year, Microsoft said internal and external reviews found no violations. However, the company acknowledged its limited visibility into how its technology is deployed on private or on-premises systems
Microsoft announced on Aug.15 that it is launching a formal review into allegations that its Azure cloud services were used by the Israeli military for mass surveillance of Palestinians. The company said it hired the law firm Covington & Burling LLP to lead the review, and pledged to make the findings of the review public once the process is complete.
That move came after reports earlier this month in The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Local Call cited sources alleging that the Israeli Defense Forces stored data from widespread phone monitoring of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank on Microsoft servers.
Protesters walk past a security robot as they leave the Microsoft campus. (GeekWire Photo / Todd Bishop)
At the time of the initial report by the Guardian, the company explained that its work with an Israeli intelligence unit focused on cybersecurity and that it was not aware of any civilian surveillance.
The encampment Tuesday was part of a broader escalation by the group, which has spent much of the past year staging protests inside and outside company events, including Microsoft's 50th anniversary event in Redmond earlier this year, where protesters interrupted executives inside the event.
Earlier this month, the group staged a loud protest outside the home of Teresa Hutson, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Trusted Technology Group — pouring red paint on the sidewalk symbolizing blood, and accusing her of being complicit in killing children in Gaza, according to video clips from the protest.
The group's latest action comes amid reports of a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and increasing concerns about famine.
Hamas has agreed to a proposed 60-day cease-fire with phased hostage releases. Israeli officials today demanded the release of all hostages and said they were not interested in partial deals, according to the BBC.
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