Overview

• Redmond police said they arrested 18 people after warning protesters to leave company property, citing trespass and related charges.
• Employee-led groups, including No Azure for Apartheid and No Azure for Genocide, demanded Microsoft end its business with Israel.
• Microsoft said last week it hired Covington & Burling for an urgent review of allegations that Israeli forces used Azure to store phone data from mass surveillance.
• The company said it will release the review’s findings, noting a prior internal review found no evidence Azure or its AI were used to attack or harm people in Gaza and was not made public.
• Reporting by The Associated Press described a nearly 200-fold rise in Israeli military use of commercial AI since Oct. 7, 2023, including using Azure to transcribe, translate, and process intelligence.