Microsoft targets Palestinians abroad preventing them from communicating with relatives
Gaza (Quds News Network)- Microsoft has shut down email accounts for Palestinians abroad, who used them to make contact with relatives inside Gaza, according to a BBC report.
Several Palestinians living abroad told the BBC that they are now unable to use Skype, which is owned by Microsoft, to make phone calls with relatives in Gaza after the company deactivated their Microsoft accounts.
According to the report, Microsoft claimed that the affected users was “in response to suspected fraudulent activity.” However, individuals, whose accounts were taken down stressed that thy have been using their accounts for long periods before the genocide in Gaza and that the suspension was sudden and without any explanation.
These incidents are not the first by Microsoft against Palestinians; as soon as Israel launched its genocide in Gaza, the company offered to match employee donations to Israeli organizations, including Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, and granted Microsoft’s 3,000 Israeli employees a $3,000 stipend for “unexpected expenses because of the situation.”
Microsoft was also accused of moderating posts that expressed concern for Palestinians, while its executives have openly expressed support for Israel on its Viva Engage platform. When Israel’s genocide started, Pro-Palestine employees were ordered to stop posting “political messages” on the platform after they shared news reports about civilian casualties in Gaza.
