Microsoft has introduced an internal option for employees to request a “Trusted Technology Review” where they can raise concerns about the way Microsoft creates and uses its technology. This was announced by Microsoft President Brad Smith in an internal memo disclosed in a securities filing. With the new initiative, Microsoft"s 200,000+ employees can raise concerns anonymously without retaliation according to Microsoft’s standard non-retaliation policy.
The announcement comes after controversy about the company’s work in the Middle East. One of the main issues that bothered employees was that an Israeli Defense Forces unit was using Microsoft"s Azure cloud service for tracking the phone calls of Palestinians. This led to employee protests, firings, and resignations.
Microsoft has previously ceased providing some services to the unit in question and now the company is working to improve its pre-contract review process for engagements that require additional human rights due diligence.
The complete note from Microsoft President Brad Smith reads:
“Hello Everyone –
You’ll recall that on September 25, I shared with you actions we took after investigating a news story that reported that Azure was being used to store phone call data obtained through mass surveillance of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank. In that message, I also said we’d continue to share lessons learned and how we will apply these going forward. Today I want to share additional steps we are taking to enhance our due diligence and governance processes. This is a part of an ongoing process and, as we continue to learn more, we’ll share further steps with you.
Today we are strengthening our diligence processes by expanding how employees can report information and concerns about how Microsoft technology is developed and deployed. These build on our long-established reporting and investigations processes on workplace behavior, legal and ethical concerns, and digital and physical security – all of which make it easy for employees to raise concerns through the Microsoft Integrity Portal.
We’re adding a new and easy way for employees to report information about practices that you believe may violate the company’s policies regarding the development and deployment of our technology. This is through a new section in the Microsoft Integrity Portal called “Trusted Technology Review.” Moving forward, if you have information on these topics, simply go to the portal and select the “Trusted Technology Review” when asked for type of report. We will then follow up to address this information. Our standard non-retaliation policy applies and you can raise concerns anonymously.
As part of our commitment to ongoing improvement, we are also taking new steps to enhance other aspects of our governance processes. As one step in that work, we are working to strengthen our existing pre-contract review process for evaluating engagements that require additional human rights due diligence.
As I’ve shared before, Microsoft is a company guided by principles and ethics. We continue to consider lessons learned and apply them to how we run our business and advance our mission in an increasingly complex world. We’ll continue to listen and learn and share new steps with you along the way.”
For context, a war broke out between Israel and Palestine after Hamas militants in Gaza broke into Israel and perpetrated the October 7 attack. This led to an invasion of Gaza by Israel with the objective of defeating Hamas and retrieving the hostages. In mid-September, the United Nations found that Israel had committed genocide during the war with Hamas.
According to a BBC News report from mid-September, Israel had killed 64,964 people in Gaza, which has been seen by many to be very excessive. Around 9 in 10 homes in Gaza were estimated to have been damaged or destroyed and healthcare, water, and sanitation and hygiene have collapsed.
The war created a bitter divide among people all around the world, including Microsoft, which was selling technology to Israel to conduct the war. This is very unlikely to be the last time that Microsoft finds itself in hot geopolitical water, so hopefully these measures can help resolve issues without resorting to firing people.