Updated below with details about Microsoft firing two employees.
REDMOND, Wash. — A few hours after his office was infiltrated and occupied by a group protesting Microsoft’s technology contracts with Israel, the company’s president, Brad Smith, stood beside his desk addressing a crowd of recorders at a hastily called press conference Tuesday afternoon.
“I’ve been in this office for 23-and-a-half years and I don’t think it’s ever been as popular as it has been today,” he said.
Of the seven people involved in the occupation, two of them were current Microsoft employees, and one was a former Google employee, Smith said — seeking to underscore the company’s position that the group, No Azure for Apartheid, does not represent its workforce.
Smith said they blocked people from entering and planted crude listening devices in the form of cell phones hidden under furniture. After the protesters refused to leave when asked, he said, Redmond police had to physically remove them from the building. Police said the seven were arrested on charges including trespassing and obstruction.
The extraordinary turn of events followed two days of protests last week by the group, which is calling on Microsoft to cut ties with Israel, alleging that its cloud and AI tools are being used in human rights abuses against Palestinians in Gaza. Last Wednesday, 20 people were arrested after demonstrators occupied a plaza at the company’s East Campus and refused to disperse.
Smith said such actions are “not necessary in order to get us to pay attention.”
More importantly, he said that this type of activity “distracts from the real dialogue” that the company is having with employee groups of different backgrounds, faiths, and cultures inside Microsoft, including internal groups aligned with Israelis and Palestinians.
Smith said the company is committed to upholding its human rights principles. He reiterated that Microsoft is actively investigating a report from The Guardian alleging misuse of its Azure cloud platform by the Israeli military as part of the surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza.
The Guardian “did a fair job in its reporting,” Smith said, adding that after the paper contacted the company for the story, Microsoft was able to determine that some of the information was false, some was true, and “much of what they reported now needs to be tested.”
He also addressed a report Tuesday morning by Bloomberg News that Microsoft asked the FBI for help with the protests. Smith acknowledged that a member of Microsoft’s security staff sent an email to the local FBI office in April, saying it was to inquire whether the agency had any information about protests being planned in the Seattle area.
Addressing Microsoft’s relationship with the Israeli military, Smith said the “vast majority” of the company’s work for the Israeli Defense Force is to “protect the cybersecurity of the State of Israel.” He noted this work is often done in coordination with other countries in the region, such as the United Arab Emirates, to protect against cyber threats from Iran and Russia.
When asked if the two Microsoft employees arrested Tuesday would face internal discipline, Smith replied, “we’ll take a look,” and noted that some of them may have also been arrested last week. He called being arrested twice a situation that is “not standard employee conduct.” (See update below.)
Smith drew a distinction between what has been happening on the Microsoft campus over the past week and peaceful protests in public spaces. “People can go protest in public spaces, whether it’s at the Redmond Transit Center or in a kayak on a public lake outside my house,” he said.
That was a reference to protesters taking to Lake Washington in kayaks on Sunday, where they gathered in front of the waterside homes of Smith and Nadella, chanting and displaying large banners which read, “Microsoft Kills Kids” and “Satya + Brad = War Criminals.”
Asked how the protesters breached a secure area, Smith didn’t provide details but revealed that an employee reported that someone from No Azure for Apartheid had been contacting people Monday to try to get a copy of the floor plan in advance. It wasn’t clear when that employee report made it to Microsoft officials.
Smith said the company will “adapt our security accordingly.”
Smith concluded the press conference on a somber note, acknowledging the human toll of the Middle East conflict on both sides. He said Microsoft employees care deeply about the 1,139 people who died as a result of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack and the 251 hostages that were taken.
He added that the company also cares deeply about the 61,000 civilians who have died in Gaza since the attacks, including 17,000 children, and the hundreds of thousands facing severe risks of famine.
“We cannot do everything that we might wish to change the world, but we know our role,” he said. “We’re here to provide technology in a principled and ethical way.”
Update, Wednesday, Aug. 27: Microsoft released the following statement:
“Two employees were terminated today following serious breaches of company policies and our code of conduct. The first violated the Business Conduct Policy, participated in the unlawful break-in at the executive offices, and other demonstrations on campus, and was arrested by authorities on our premises on two occasions. The second was involved in the break-in at the executive offices and was subsequently arrested.
These incidents are inconsistent with the expectations we maintain for our employees. The company is continuing to investigate and is cooperating fully with law enforcement regarding these matters.”
Update, Thursday, Aug. 28: No Azure for Apartheid identified the fired employees as Anna Hattle and Riki Fameli, saying that both were among the seven people arrested during the occupation of Smith’s office.
A news release quoted Hattle saying, “We are here because Microsoft continues to provide Israel with the tools it needs to commit genocide while gaslighting and misdirecting its own workers about this reality. We are a few among thousands of workers who refuse to let their labor be used for the mass murder of Palestinians.”
Fameli added, “Microsoft has dragged its feet at every opportunity to address the mass death that is directly enabled through their technological infrastructure. Our drastic action is a direct response to their drastic inaction in cutting ties with customers that have continually violated international law and Microsoft’s own human rights standards.”
The group plans to hold a news conference Thursday afternoon.
Update, Friday, Aug. 29: Microsoft fired two more workers, bringing the total to four. At their press conference, ,embers of No Azure for Apartheid disputed elements of the company’s account of the incident this week.
PREVIOUSLY: Inside the Microsoft protests: Fired engineer speaks out on Palestine, Israel, AI, and big tech
