Latest news with #GeefTegengas
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Activists in Netherlands protest on roof of Microsoft site storing Israeli military data
Activists have staged a protest on the roof of a Microsoft datacentre in the Netherlands after revelations the Israeli military is storing large volumes of data in the country. Images posted on social media showed some of the activists blocking access to the large Microsoft facility in the north-west of the country on Sunday, while others scaled the building's roof and lit flares. The group, Geef Tegengas (Push Back), said its protest was in response to a recent Guardian investigation that revealed how the Israeli military surveillance agency Unit 8200 has used Microsoft's Azure cloud platform to store a vast collection of intercepted Palestinian phone calls. The joint investigation with the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call found that Microsoft's Azure servers in the Netherlands have held large volumes of Israeli military data. Leaked Microsoft documents suggest that by July this year 11,500 terabytes of Israeli military data, equivalent to approximately 200m hours of audio files, was stored in Azure's servers in the Netherlands. In a statement, the activists said they were 'calling on all employees of the datacentre to lay down their work until all Israeli intelligence has been removed from the servers'. The Microsoft facility, a 14-hectare campus located near Middenmeer in the North Holland province, is part of a global network of datacentres used to store Azure customers' data. Disclosures about the Israeli military's reliance on the Netherlands-based datacentres prompted questions in the Dutch parliament this week at an emergency parliamentary debate about Israel's war on Gaza. During the debate, Christine Teunissen, an MP for the leftwing Party for the Animals, asked the government how it would prevent data held in the country from 'being used to commit genocide' in the besieged Palestinian territory. Caspar Veldkamp, the Dutch foreign minister, said in response he does not know exactly what information is available, but he would 'request further investigation', adding: 'If there are serious indications of criminal offences in that information, legal proceedings can of course be initiated, and that is then up to the public prosecution service.' Responding to the investigation this week, Microsoft said it had 'no information' about the kind of data stored by Unit 8200 in Azure. 'At no time during this engagement [with Unit 8200] has Microsoft been aware of the surveillance of civilians or collection of their cellphone conversations using Microsoft's services,' a spokesperson said. On Saturday, the Guardian reported that senior Microsoft executives are scrambling to assess what data Unit 8200 holds in Azure and are concerned that its staff in Israel may have concealed key details about its work with the unit. A spokesperson for the Israeli military previously said its work with Microsoft is based on 'legally supervised agreements' and the military 'operates in accordance with international law, with the aim of countering terrorism and ensuring the security of the state and its citizens'.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Activists in Netherlands protest on roof of Microsoft site storing Israeli military data
Activists have staged a protest on the roof of a Microsoft datacentre in the Netherlands after revelations the Israeli military is storing large volumes of data in the country. Images posted on social media showed some of the activists blocking access to the large Microsoft facility in the north-west of the country on Sunday, while others scaled the building's roof and lit flares. The group, Geef Tegengas (Push Back), said its protest was in response to a recent Guardian investigation that revealed how the Israeli military surveillance agency, Unit 8200, has used Microsoft's Azure cloud platform to store a vast collection of intercepted Palestinian phone calls. The joint investigation with the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call found that Microsoft's Azure servers in the Netherlands have held large volumes of Israeli military data. Leaked Microsoft documents suggest that by July this year 11,500 terabytes of Israeli military data, equivalent to approximately 200m hours of audio files, was stored in Azure's servers in the Netherlands. In a statement, the activists said they were 'calling on all employees of the datacentre to lay down their work until all Israeli intelligence has been removed from the servers'. The Microsoft facility, a 14-hectares campus located near Middenmeer in the North Holland province, is part of a global network of datacentres used to store Azure customers' data. Disclosures about the Israeli military's reliance on the Netherlands-based datacentres prompted questions in the Dutch parliament this week at an emergency parliamentary debate about Israel's war on Gaza. During the debate, Christine Teunissen, an MP for the leftwing Party for the Animals, asked the government how it would prevent data held in the country from 'being used to commit genocide' in the besieged Palestinian territory. Caspar Veldkamp, the Dutch foreign minister, said in response he does not know exactly what information is available, but he would 'request further investigation', adding: 'If there are serious indications of criminal offences in that information, legal proceedings can of course be initiated, and that is then up to the public prosecution service.' Responding to the investigation this week, Microsoft said it had 'no information' about the kind of data stored by Unit 8200 in Azure. 'At no time during this engagement [with Unit 8200] has Microsoft been aware of the surveillance of civilians or collection of their cellphone conversations using Microsoft's services,' a spokesperson said. On Saturday, the Guardian reported that senior Microsoft executives are scrambling to assess what data Unit 8200 holds in Azure, amid concerns among the company's leadership that its staff in Israel may have concealed key details about its work with the unit. A spokesperson for the Israeli military previously said its work with Microsoft is based on 'legally supervised agreements' and the military 'operates in accordance with international law, with the aim of countering terrorism and ensuring the security of the state and its citizens'.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Greta Thunberg Leads Protest at Maersk Over Emissions, Israel Ties
More than 50 activists including Greta Thunberg briefly held a demonstration inside the Copenhagen office of Maersk's tankers division Tuesday. Environmental group Den Grønne Ungdomsbevægelse (the Green Youth Movement) gathered in protest of the subsidiary's shipping of oil and gas and overall carbon emissions, as well as allegations that the company transports weapons to Israel. More from Sourcing Journal Maersk Expects No Cost Impact From Port Fees, Assures 'Unchanged' Service Maersk Cuts 2025 Container Outlook: China Capacity 'Not Available Elsewhere' Denim and the Shifting Landscape of Fashion in Uncertain Times Maersk has repeatedly denied the activists' second claim. 'We demand that Maersk take the just and necessary action, whether it concerns climate collapse or the genocide in Palestine,' said Thunberg in a statement. For Tuesday's demonstration, the protesters brought cleaning products with them, which they used to wash the walls and floor of the building with the intent to criticize Maersk's alleged greenwashing. 'We won't finish our cleaning just yet,' said Green Youth Movement activist Gustav Hertz Holm in a statement. 'We'll stay here as long as we can. We'll have to force Maersk to put human life and nature above short-term profit and demand that they stop transporting oil and gas. At a minimum, Maersk could transport it to Gaza, where they lack fuel to sanitize water and run hospitals.' Police broke up the Copenhagen protest. No arrests were made. Tuesday's protest was a part of a wider movement called 'May:hem Against Maersk' that started May 5 and took place across several cities Europe including Copenhagen, Aarhus, Paris, Helsinki, Rotterdam, Stockholm and Berlin. The last demonstration will take place Thursday. 'Maersk says they are contributing to the green transition, while they are doing the opposite,' activist Freya Skriver of the Green Youth Movement, said in a statement. 'Not only do they facilitate unsustainable overconsumption with their shipping and emit a surreal amount of CO2, they are also still shipping oil and gas around the world, which is of course unacceptable in the midst of a climate collapse.' Another separate activist group of roughly 30 demonstrators held protests blocking the lobby of Maersk's Rotterdam office on Wednesday morning as part of the 'Mask Off Maersk' campaign. The protesting group, known as Geef Tegengas, demanded the company halt the transport of weapons to and from Israel. Demonstrators chained themselves to the building's access gates and created noise to 'disrupt Maersk's activities and make their presence known,' said spokesperson Sterre van de Berg. In April, Geef Tegengas staged similar protests, blocking the Port of Rotterdam's rail freight lines in a series of protests. The recent activity from both groups follows a protest on Feb. 24, when over 1,000 European activists blocked entry to Maersk's headquarters in Copenhagen. Thunberg was among 20 who were arrested after the demonstration. In March, Maersk shareholders voted down two investor proposals to disclose its human rights due diligence and stop shipments of arms to Israel. The second claim was denied on Maersk's contention that it only carries military equipment to the country, not weapons or ammunition. A Denmark-based investigative publication DanWatch obtained 2,000 bills of lading to find that Maersk had transported shipments from military vehicle manufacturer Oshkosh Defense, including armored personnel carriers, combat vehicles and missile casings—but not weaponry. Mask Off Maersk, which is supported by the Palestinian Youth Movement, claims the container shipping giant has carried supply chain equipment and other military materials for F-35 jets from a Lockheed Martin U.S. Air Force plant in Fort Worth, Texas to Israel's Nevatim Air Base.
