Irish group asks authorities to investigate Microsoft
What's the story
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), a human rights group, has requested the Irish authorities to probe Microsoft. The complaint centers on alleged illegal data handling by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) using Microsoft's cloud service, Azure. The ICCL has filed the complaint with the Data Protection Commission (DPC), which is responsible for overseeing data processing activities within the European Union.
Serious charges
Allegations of facilitating war crimes
The ICCL has alleged that Microsoft's handling of personal data has "facilitated war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide by Israeli military." The complaint comes after reports from The Guardian, Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine, and Hebrew outlet Local Call revealed that a massive collection of Palestinian phone calls was stored on Microsoft's Azure as part of an Israeli military surveillance operation.
Advocacy
ICCL's executive director speaks out
Joe O'Brien, the ICCL's executive director, has stressed the urgency of this matter. He said, "Microsoft's technology has put millions of Palestinians in danger. These are not abstract data-protection failures." O'Brien also emphasized that Microsoft's cloud services "enabled real-world violence" and called for swift action from the DPC given the "threat to life posed by the issues at the heart of this complaint."
Accountability
EU infrastructure and surveillance
O'Brien further stressed the need for accountability, saying, "When EU infrastructure is used to enable surveillance and targeting, the Irish Data Protection Commission must step in and it must use its full powers to hold Microsoft to account." The complaint comes after leaked documents revealed that Unit 8200, Israel's military spy agency, had been in talks since 2021 about moving large amounts of sensitive intelligence material to Microsoft's cloud service.
Corporate action
Microsoft's response and ICCL's claims
In light of these revelations, Microsoft launched an urgent external inquiry into its relationship with Unit 8200. The initial findings led the company to revoke the unit's access to some of its cloud storage and AI services. The ICCL claims Microsoft played a key role in Israel's military surveillance system "Al Minasseq." It also alleges that the "removal" of intercepted phone calls records from EU servers to Israel hid evidence of illegal processing before investigations could start within the EU.