Gaza accusations at centre of Microsoft shareholder resolution

Internal review previously found 'no evidence' Microsoft technology was used to harm Palestinians during war

Despite internal audits seeking to address concerns, demonstrators have continued to criticise Microsoft's contracts with Israel and how its technology is being used in Gaza. Photo: No Azure for ApartheidShow less

A shareholder resolution related to the allegations levelled at Microsoft concerning the use of its technology in Gaza will be voted on at the company's annual meeting.

The resolution seeks to push Microsoft to evaluate its effectiveness in promoting "human rights due diligence processes" related to artificial intelligence.

"Shareholders request the board of directors publish a report, at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, assessing the effectiveness of Microsoft’s human rights due diligence processes in preventing, identifying and addressing customer misuse of Microsoft artificial intelligence and cloud products or services that violates human rights or international humanitarian law," reads the resolution.

Eko, a group ‘committed to curbing the growing power of corporations’, provided a copy of the resolution to be presented at Microsoft's next shareholder meeting. Photo: Microsoft

Since April, the software company has come under criticism from various groups, chief among them No Azure for Apartheid, which consists of current and former Microsoft employees who have criticised the company's contracts with the Israeli military. The group has claimed that Microsoft's AI and cloud products have been used to target Palestinians in the war in Gaza.

After weeks of condemnation from No Azure for Apartheid, Microsoft announced in May that an internal review had found "no evidence" its products have been used to harm people in Gaza.

There were caveats in the review, however, particularly an acknowledgement that because of the nature of how software and AI tools are used by various entities, Microsoft's investigation might have been limited.

The resolution recently submitted for the company based in Redmond, Washington, was filed by about 60 shareholders, "collectively representing more than $80 million in Microsoft shares", said corporation watchdog Eko, which provided a copy of the resolution to The National.

Israel's campaign in the enclave – which followed the 2023 attacks by Hamas-led fighters on Israel that resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people and the capture of 240 hostages – has killed nearly 58,400 people and injured more than 139,000.

Microsoft is not alone in coming under scrutiny for contracts with Israel. Palantir, Lockheed Martin, Booz Allen Hamilton, Google and others have faced flak.

The internal review of Microsoft, despite making the company stand out among others to have been condemned for their ties to Israel, failed to appease those who insist the company's AI tools and cloud computing offerings such as Azure have been misused in Gaza.

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The lead filer of the resolution, set to face a vote at Microsoft's annual shareholder meeting in December, is the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, an international congregation of Catholic women.

"Over the years, we have had constructive discussions with Microsoft," read a statement from the group. "However, in this case, we are disappointed that Microsoft’s recent statements responding to allegations of complicity in war crimes lack both specificity and detail."

Rewan Haddad, a campaign director at Eko, which describes itself as being "committed to curbing the growing power of corporations", said "time will tell if Microsoft’s executives heed the call of their investors and people around the world, or continue to profit from and fuel atrocities".

When asked about the shareholder resolution, a Microsoft official directed The National to the company's internal investigation released in May, but also pointed out that the company would respond to shareholder proposals in its annual proxy statement scheduled for later this year.

Its looks set to face an uphill battle in terms of being approved by Microsoft's shareholders and because resolutions for publicly traded companies in the US are non-binding, enforcing them is difficult.

Meanwhile, demonstrators calling attention to the plight of Gazans have continued to interrupt Microsoft events throughout the US.