Microsoft employees disrupt keynote speech by the company’s chief executive in a pro-Palestinian protest at the company’s annual developer meeting on Monday.
Microsoft firmware engineer Joe Lopez, who worked on part of the company’s cloud computing platform, Azure, was seduced by security in a build meeting shortly after facing Satyanadera.
“Satya, what do you think Microsoft is killing Palestinians?” cried Lopez. “How about showing how Israeli war crimes are driven by the blue sky?”
After the confusion, Lopez sent out an entire staff email explaining his decision to hold a protest.
“As one of the world’s biggest companies, Microsoft has the immense power to do the right thing. We will put an end to this pointless tragedy or stop technical support for Israel.” “If leadership continues to ignore this demand, I promise that it will not be noticed. The world is already awakened to our accomplices and is opposed to us. Boycotts will continue to increase and our image will continue to devastate.”
Organizers, with a worker-led group called No Azure for Apartheid (NOAA), organized protests that matched the developer meeting. The group has been protesting cloud computing contracts with Microsoft’s AI and Israeli military for over a year. It has been found that its Azure Cloud software is being used by the OFEK unit of the Israeli Air Force, a unit that allows Palestinians to monitor Israel and manages a database of potential targets for deadly airstrikes. The leaked documents also show that Microsoft has “footprints on all major military infrastructure” in Israel, according to +972 Magazine.
“A year ago, workers launched apartheid campaigns and petitions azure in an emergency after seven months of genocide,” wrote Microsoft Worker and Organizer Anna Hattle in an email to the company’s leadership on May 15. “We are now witnessing the same crime committed with one important difference 77 years ago. Now, Israeli occupation forces are implementing this genocide on a much larger scale thanks to Microsoft Cloud and AI technology.”
After the newsletter promotion
The Lopez demonstration is the second type of thing in the last two months. On April 6, two Microsoft workers, Ibtihal Aboussad and Vaniya Agrawal, confused the Microsoft AI event, calling it the company’s AI chief, Mustafa Suleyman and War Profiteer. Both workers were then fired. Lopez’s job status could not be determined. Last year, Google saw similar internal protests and mass shootings over Israeli military contracts.
In response to reports of the use of Microsoft technology by the Israeli military, Microsoft said it found that third-party investigations had “no evidence” that the technology was used to hurt or target people. Activist group NOAA has challenged the company’s conclusions. The company did not immediately comment on the Lopez demo.
“Leadership rejects our claim that Azure Technology is being used to target or harm Gaza civilians. We who are paying attention know that this is a bold face lie,” Lopez wrote in his all-staff email. “Internal audits are not needed to know that Top Azur’s customers are committing crimes against humanity. We believe they do live online every day.”
Lopez’s protest comes days after the Palestinians were marked 77 years after Nacba.