Microsoft employees have expressed concern that emails containing certain Palestinian-related terms such as “Palestine,” “Gaza,” “genocide,” “apartheid,” and “IOF off Azure” are being blocked or delayed within the company’s Outlook system. These issues reportedly surfaced last Wednesday before noon PST when employees conducted tests sending emails with and without those terms. Emails without the flagged words appeared to go through normally, while those containing the terms failed to be sent or experienced significant delays, even when included in routine HR complaints or work-related communications.
One employee whose email signature included the word “apartheid” noted their emails successfully sent around 11:30 a.m. but suddenly began failing just before noon. On internal company message boards, employees questioned why emails containing “Israel” would send without issue, while those with “Palestine” and related terms would not. Attempts to bypass the filtering by altering words, such as replacing “Palestine” with “P4lestine,” were reportedly successful. Some employees wondered if the company’s inclusivity policies were being abandoned or if the filtering was specifically targeting Palestinians and their supporters.
Microsoft’s Chief Communications Officer clarified that emails are not being censored or blocked unless they are mass-sent to large distribution groups, adding that efforts are underway to reduce delays. A company spokesperson explained that recent measures were aimed at limiting emails sent to tens of thousands of employees who had not opted in to receive them. However, employees have reported that even emails sent to small groups were blocked or delayed when containing the contentious terms.
One employee shared that a report sent to HR containing flagged terms did not receive the usual automatic confirmation for over 24 hours and was similarly delayed in appearing on the HR portal. A group called No Azure for Apartheid, which advocates against Microsoft’s involvement with the Israeli military, noted some emails were delayed by seven hours or more, suggesting manual review processes before delivery.
Microsoft has recently faced heightened protests due to the Israeli military’s use of the company’s AI products. At the Microsoft Build developer conference, protesters interrupted sessions and keynote speeches. During one event, protesters targeted Sarah Bird, head of responsible AI, accusing Microsoft of whitewashing alleged crimes in Palestine. The protests also highlighted the involvement of Microsoft AI security chief Neta Haiby, a former member of the Israel Defense Forces.
Several employees have voiced strong opposition to the company’s relationship with Israel. One Palestinian tech worker disrupted a Microsoft Build session, accusing leadership of complicity in genocide and calling to “free Palestine” and stop “Azure for apartheid.” Earlier, a software engineer interrupted CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote speech with similar accusations and was later terminated for “misconduct” and violating workplace respect policies.
Protests have continued outside Microsoft events, and some employees who publicly opposed the use of Microsoft’s AI in Israeli military operations have been terminated. The controversies underscore ongoing tensions within Microsoft’s workforce around the company’s role in geopolitical conflicts and the challenges of managing internal communication amid sensitive political issues.
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