Microsoft President Brad Smith held a press conference on Tuesday following a demonstration by protesters at the company’s headquarters. The protesters, part of the group No Azure for Apartheid, managed to enter the building and staged a sit-in at Smith’s office earlier that day. In his remarks to reporters, Smith acknowledged the unusual circumstances of the day.
The protesters have previously interrupted Microsoft events, advocating for the termination of the company’s contracts with the Israeli government and military. Smith stated that Microsoft is committed to upholding its human rights principles in the Middle East. He noted that the company initiated an investigation earlier this month in response to a report by The Guardian, which alleged that Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform was being utilized for surveillance activities against Palestinians. Smith mentioned that while Microsoft disagreed with certain aspects of the report, some findings warranted further examination.
“We are working every day to get to the bottom of what’s going on, and we will,” he asserted during the conference. An organizer from No Azure for Apartheid, Abdo Mohamed, indicated that among the protesters were current Microsoft employees Riki Fameli and Anna Hattle, along with several former employees.
Smith reported that a total of seven individuals participated in the protest, with two of them being current Microsoft employees. He added that the protesters were removed from the premises by Redmond police. Smith also expressed his disapproval of the actions taken by the protesters, which included occupying the office and using hidden devices to listen in on conversations. “When asked to leave and they refused, that’s not ok,” he stated.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/microsoft/766429/microsoft-emergency-press-conference-palestine-protest