Microsoft disabled access to some of its services for a unit within the Israeli Defense Ministry after finding evidence that the ministry used its cloud and AI technology for the mass surveillance of Palestinian civilians, in violation of the company's terms of service.
Details on the incident:
Triggering Investigation: In August 2025, a joint investigation by The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Local Call revealed that Unit 8200, an Israeli military intelligence unit, was storing intercepted phone calls of Palestinians on Microsoft's Azure cloud and using this data for airstrikes and arrests.
Microsoft's Review: Following the media investigation and employee protests, Microsoft conducted an internal review. In September 2025, Microsoft Vice Chair Brad Smith confirmed that the review supported the findings regarding the use of Azure storage and AI services.
Terms of Service Violation: Smith's blog post stated that Microsoft's terms of service prohibit using its technology for mass civilian surveillance.
Service Disablement: Microsoft notified the Israeli Defense Ministry (IMOD) that it would "cease and disable specified IMOD subscriptions and their services, including their use of specific cloud storage and AI services and technologies" connected to the surveillance.
Scope of the Suspension: This suspension impacts a subset of services for one unit. Microsoft intends to continue other cybersecurity and military-related work with Israel.
Reports suggest the Israeli military unit plans to move its data to Amazon Web Services.
“Trump's demand for Microsoft to fire Monaco came a day after the company disabled the Israeli Defense Ministry's access to certain services and subscriptions, after finding evidence that the ministry used the tech company's cloud services to surveil Gaza citizens. The probe was prompted after the Guardian, the British news organization, reported in August that Israel used Microsoft's Azure cloud to store data on Gaza civilians and surveil them.
Trump is planning to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo posted on X on Friday about Monaco joining Microsoft.
Fox News parent Fox Corp. and The Wall Street Journal parent News Corp share common ownership.” [1]
1. U.S. News: Trump Calls for Firing of Microsoft Global Affairs Chief. Herrera, Sebastian. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 29 Sep 2025: A4.
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