- An employee disrupted Satya Nadella’s keynote at Microsoft Build to protest the company’s contracts with the Israeli government. The protest was part of a larger campaign by a group called “No Azure for Apartheid,” which includes current and former Microsoft workers. Despite an internal review that found no evidence of misuse, critics argue the company lacks visibility into how the Israeli military is actually using its technologies.
A Microsoft employee dramatically disrupted Satya Nadella’s keynote speech at the company’s flagship Build event on Monday. The employee, who is a member of a group called “No Azure for Apartheid,” was protesting against the company’s contracts with the Israeli government amid the country’s ongoing war in Gaza.
The employee, Joe Lopez, was joined by a former Google employee who also staged a protest against his previous employer’s links with the Israeli government.
“Satya! How about you show how Microsoft is killing Palestinians? How about you show the Israeli war crimes are powered by Azure,” Lopez shouted during the CEO’s speech. “As a Microsoft worker, I refuse to be complicit in this genocide. Free Palestine!”
Lopez was removed after the protest, but in a video shared on the “No Azure for Apartheid” Instagram page, another disruptor shouted as Nadella continued his speech.
Following the protest, Lopez sent a mass email to Microsoft workers explaining his actions. He said he was “shocked by the silence of our leadership” following previous protests over the company’s contracts with the Israeli government.
Microsoft has dealt with similar protests in the past. Last month, former employees disrupted the company’s 50th-anniversary celebrations, calling Microsoft’s AI CEO, Mustafa Suleyman, a “war profiteer.”
Microsoft also fired two employees last year for holding a vigil for Palestinians killed in Gaza, with the tech giant citing violations of internal policies.
Microsoft says its tech is not being used to harm civilians
In response to the protests, Microsoft has denied that its technology is used by the Israeli military to harm Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
Earlier this month, the company said it had conducted an internal review with the help of an external firm that found “no evidence that Microsoft’s Azure and AI technologies, or any of our other software, have been used to harm people or that IMOD has failed to comply with our terms of service or our AI Code of Conduct.”
The review did not soothe all employees’ concerns, however, as the company acknowledged its review was limited in scope because it didn’t “have visibility into how customers use our software on their own servers or other devices.”
Lopez rejected the company’s recent review in his email to employees.
“Leadership rejects our claims that Azure technology is being used to target or harm civilians in Gaza,” he wrote. “Those of us who have been paying attention know that this is a bold-faced lie. Every byte of data that is stored on the cloud (much of it likely containing data obtained by illegal mass surveillance) can and will be used as justification to level cities and exterminate Palestinians.”
A spokesperson for Microsoft told Fortune: “The safety and well-being of our employees, customers, and community remain our top priority. We support the right to peaceful assembly and ask that it be exercised respectfully.”
Who are the ‘No Azure for Apartheid’ group?
The protest group behind the disruption is made up of former and current Microsoft workers. Established in 2024, the group is demanding that the tech giant cease all Azure contracts and partnerships with the Israeli military and government.
The group also wants Microsoft to: “Make all ties to the Israeli state, military, and tech industry publicly known, including weapons manufacturers and contractors. Conduct a transparent and independent audit of Microsoft’s technology contracts, services, and investments.”
The protest group has officially rejected Microsoft’s review, which was conducted earlier this month.
In the statement made to GeekWire, one of the group’s organizers, Hossam Nasr, said: “In one breath, they claim that their technology is not being used to harm people in Gaza,” while also admitting “they don’t have insight into how their technologies are being used” on Israeli military servers.
“There is no form of selling technology to an army that is plausibly accused of genocide — whose leaders are wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court — that would be ethical,” Nasr added. “That’s the premise that we reject.”
