The protest against Microsoft followed a Guardian report, dated Aug. 6, that stated the Israeli military used Microsoft’s public cloud computing platform, Azure, to build a mass surveillance tool.
Microsoft is weighing disciplinary actions against employees, both current and former, who stormed into the Redmond office of its President, Brad Smith, on Tuesday.
The protest against Microsoft followed a Guardian report, dated Aug. 6, that stated that the Israeli military used Microsoft’s public cloud computing platform Azure for building a mass surveillance tool that collected and stored mobile phone call recordings made by Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
Organized by a group named “No Azure for Genocide group,” the protest saw current and former Microsoft staff holding placards that read “Join The Worker Intifada – No Labor for Genocide” and “Martyred Palestinian Children’s Plaza”.
Microsoft stock slid 0.44% on Tuesday despite most other mega-cap stocks, dubbed the “Magnificent Seven,” closing in the green. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward the stock remained ‘bearish’ (41/100) by late Tuesday, while the message volume on the stream was ‘normal.’
Following the development, Smith addressed the media in a livestreamed event on Tuesday night. He said that the company had launched a formal investigation into the issue two weeks prior. “We are working every day to get to the bottom of what is going on, and we will, and we will uphold our human rights principles and our terms of service.”
In May, Microsoft fired software engineer Joe Lopez after he interrupted CEO Satya Nadella’s speech by yelling out, “Satya, how about you show how Microsoft is killing Palestinians,” during the 2025 “Build” developer conference.
A Bloomberg report stated on Tuesday that Microsoft had sought assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and local law enforcement agencies to track Palestinian protests that had been simmering across its Redmond campus for the past year.
Smith said Microsoft wants to keep its workforce safe and secure. “We need to keep our employees secure while we honor the freedom of expression that is a hallmark of this country and American life,” he said.
“But obviously, when seven folks do as they did today, you know, storm a building, occupy an office, lock other people out of the office, plant listening devices, even in crude form, in the form of telephones, cell phones hidden under couches and behind books. That’s not okay.”
Smith said this wasn’t “standard employee” conduct.
He clarified that Microsoft will do its part by ensuring that its human rights principles and contractual terms of service are upheld everywhere by all of our customers around the world.
Smith also said that if employees wish to express their opinions, they can share them with coworkers through the company’s internal communication services or submit petitions.
When he was asked whether two of the seven protestors, whom he identified as Microsoft employees, would face disciplinary action, Smith said, “We’ll we’ll take a look. I think one or two of them may have also been arrested last week.”
Smith was referring to the arrest of 20 employees last week, who protested at the Redmond campus over the same issue.
“We’re here to provide technology in a principled and ethical way. And I want everyone to know that’s our job,” Smith said, adding that “We’ll do our job well just as we will continue to do our broader job well, providing technology for customers around the world.”
Microsoft stock has gained about 20% this year.
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