Overview

• Microsoft employees discovered internal email filters blocking terms like 'Palestine,' 'Gaza,' and 'genocide,' raising concerns about censorship and retaliation.
• Protests led by the group No Azure for Apartheid disrupted multiple keynotes during the Build 2025 conference, including those by CEO Satya Nadella and EVP Jay Parikh.
• Microsoft confirmed the email restrictions, citing efforts to limit mass politically focused communications within the company.
• The company defended its AI and cloud contracts with Israel, stating internal and external reviews found no evidence of its technology being used to harm civilians in Gaza.
• A protester, Joe Lopez, was fired after disrupting Nadella's keynote and sending mass emails critical of Microsoft's ties to Israel.