In an astonishing act of censorship, tech giant Microsoft has quietly implemented a policy blocking employee emails containing the words “Palestine,” “Gaza,” or “genocide” on its internal emails after protests against the company’s ties to the Israeli government.
The protest group “No Azure for Apartheid” has accused Microsoft of engaging in censorship and retaliatory practices, describing recent events as “yet another chapter in a long tale of Microsoft’s intimidation, retaliation, repression, and censorship culture.”
Tensions within the company have escalated following a series of protests, including disruptions at Microsoft’s Build event. Among the demonstrators was Joe Lopez, a former Microsoft employee, who interrupted CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote address and later sent a mass email to company staff.
In the message, Lopez cited the “silence” of Microsoft leadership in response to earlier protests against the company’s contracts with the Israeli government as the motivation for his actions. He was subsequently terminated.
The controversy has drawn criticism from prominent public figures, including musician and artist Brian Eno, widely known for composing the Windows 95 startup chime. In a recent Instagram post, Eno condemned Microsoft’s involvement in “surveillance, violence, and destruction in Palestine,” and called on the company to “suspend all services that support any operations that contribute to violations of international law.”
