{"id":114514,"date":"2025-08-27T19:58:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T19:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/114514\/"},"modified":"2025-08-27T19:58:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T19:58:10","slug":"microsofts-employee-protests-have-reached-a-boiling-point","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/114514\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft\u2019s employee protests have reached a boiling point"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some Microsoft employees are willing to risk everything to protest their employer. No Azure for Apartheid, a group led by current and former Microsoft employees, started last year as a petition<\/a> to Microsoft executives. It demanded that Microsoft end all Azure contracts and partnerships with the Israeli military and government, disclose all ties, call for a ceasefire in Gaza, and protect pro-Palestinian speech.<\/p>\n

Microsoft hasn\u2019t met any of these bold demands, so the group has turned to increasingly brazen actions at Microsoft events, the company\u2019s headquarters, and now the homes and offices of Microsoft executives to get results. Microsoft downplays<\/a> how many employees are involved, but many are quietly working behind the scenes to help get the message out.<\/p>\n

While the petition failed to have an impact, a louder protest outside Microsoft\u2019s headquarters kickstarted a wave of public activism. Two of the organizers of No Azure for Apartheid \u2014 Abdo Mohamed and Hossam Nasr \u2014 were fired for<\/a> disrupting colleagues with \u201cbullhorns and speakers.\u201d They\u2019ve been recruiting Microsoft employees, other tech workers, and community members ever since. The group has since made headlines for interrupting Microsoft executives during a 50th anniversary celebration and at the company\u2019s Build developer conference earlier this year.<\/p>\n

The protests have escalated dramatically in recent weeks. Microsoft executive Teresa Hutson was targeted on August 7th by the group, which gathered more than 30 people carrying Palestinian flags and signs reading \u201cWANTED for PROFITING from GENOCIDE\u201d outside her house. The group covered the sidewalk in front of her home in red paint and scrawled \u201cTeresa Hutson kills\u201d in chalk on the road.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The chalk and red paint outside a Microsoft executive\u2019s home (blurred and cropped to remove identifying details). Image: No Azure for Apartheid<\/p>\n

Huston is Microsoft\u2019s CVP of the Trusted Technology Group, and not an EVP or senior executive at the company. \u201cShe publicly describes herself as the owner of the human rights work at Microsoft and delivers the Responsible AI Transparency Report, making her one of the key complicit executives,\u201d says Abdo Mohamed in a message to The Verge.<\/p>\n

The group had previously targeted Hutson<\/a> on June 18th at an ethics and tech conference at Seattle University, where she was due to speak. \u201cWhen no Azure for Apartheid disrupted the first Microsoft speaker, she ended up leaving the conference to avoid us,\u201d says Mohamed.<\/p>\n

The rally outside Hutson\u2019s house \u2014 which included speeches and protesters carrying wanted signs with the executive\u2019s headshot \u2014 marked a serious escalation in what the group was willing to do to get Microsoft to respond to its demands.<\/p>\n

\"Protesters<\/a><\/p>\n

Protesters also carried wanted signs and banners (blurred to remove identifying details). Image: No Azure for Apartheid<\/p>\n

Days later, protesters arrived at Microsoft\u2019s headquarters to start an encampment. A group of current and former Microsoft employees, as well as community members, took over a plaza at Microsoft\u2019s headquarters. Protesters were moved to a public area outside of Microsoft\u2019s campus on the first day of those protests last week, but things got heated when they returned on the second day.<\/p>\n

A current Microsoft employee was arrested<\/a> in an ugly scene at the company\u2019s headquarters on day two, where red paint was spilled over a Microsoft sign and there were struggles with police. Redmond police ended up arresting 20 people after some protesters allegedly \u201cbecame aggressive.\u201d Mohamed disputes that and says police \u201cviolently dismantled\u201d the encampment at Microsoft\u2019s headquarters. The group distributed footage of a cop using a pepper ball gun at point blank on a protester who appeared to already be restrained on the floor.<\/p>\n

Microsoft\u2019s approach to the protests also changed after this incident. This spring, Microsoft issued the brief type of corporate statement you\u2019d expect at any sign of trouble. But in recent weeks, Microsoft has begun to hit back at protesters with its own footage and images, released to members of the media hours after the disruption at the company\u2019s headquarters in an attempt to upend the narrative. The company provided CCTV footage of protesters dragging a security fence and briefly ensnaring a cop inside it, as well as protesters confronting a DJ and disconnecting equipment. Microsoft also released images of a fake Microsoft ID used by at least one protester, as well as an arrest list for the day.<\/p>\n

Anna Hattle, a software engineer in Microsoft\u2019s cloud and AI team, was arrested at last week\u2019s protests<\/a>, alongside former Microsoft employees Hossam Nasr, Vaniya Agrawal, and Joe Lopez. All three former employees helped disrupt Microsoft\u2019s Build conference, and Agrawal was the Microsoft worker who interrupted cofounder Bill Gates, former CEO Steve Ballmer, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on stage at the company\u2019s 50th anniversary event.<\/p>\n

Protesters also targeted Nadella\u2019s and vice chair and president Brad Smith\u2019s houses during a rally on Lake Washington over the weekend. The group used around 20 kayaks to unfurl banners reading \u201cMicrosoft kills kids\u201d and \u201cSatya + Brad = War Criminals\u201d on waters close to Nadella\u2019s and Smith\u2019s homes. Former Microsoft employee Ibtihal Aboussad was also part of the lake protest, after disrupting Microsoft\u2019s 50th anniversary<\/a> event in April and calling Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman a \u201cwar profiteer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Protesters<\/a><\/p>\n

Protesters used kayaks outside Satya Nadella and Brad Smith\u2019s homes. Image: No Azure for Apartheid<\/p>\n

While the protests on Lake Washington were carried out on public waters, things reached a boiling point this week after a group of seven activists \u201cstormed a building\u201d and managed to get access to Brad Smith\u2019s office inside Building 34 at the company\u2019s headquarters. Current and former Microsoft employees performed a sit-in protest<\/a> in Smith\u2019s office, and Microsoft was forced to temporarily lock down its executive building.<\/p>\n

Microsoft employees Riki Fameli and Anna Hattle were part of the protest, alongside former employees Vaniya Agrawal, Hossam Nasr, and Joe Lopez. They were also joined by a former Google employee and another tech worker.<\/p>\n

Smith then hastily held an emergency press conference<\/a> in his office, just hours after protesters had barricaded themselves inside with chairs before they were arrested. Smith said that Microsoft is \u201ccommitted to ensuring its human rights principles and contractual terms of service are upheld in the Middle East.\u201d He said the company launched an investigation earlier this month after The Guardian<\/a> and others reported that Microsoft\u2019s Azure cloud platform was being used for surveillance of Palestinians.<\/p>\n

Microsoft said in May that it had found no evidence<\/a> through an internal and external review that the Israeli military has used its Azure and AI technology to harm Palestinian civilians or anyone else in Gaza. Microsoft\u2019s previous review was delivered just days before its Build conference was disrupted multiple times.<\/p>\n

Bloomberg reported<\/a> earlier this week that Microsoft asked the FBI for help tracking the protesters after the disruptions to its 50th anniversary. Microsoft also coordinated with local officials and ramped up security for its annual Build developer conference in Seattle, but protesters were still able to disrupt Satya Nadella and other executives.<\/p>\n

Sources tell me Microsoft is ramping up security across its campus in response to the escalation in protester tactics. Microsoft employees were told last week not to take a pedestrian bridge on its headquarters nearby the protests, and I\u2019m told that a big event at its new campus that was supposed to take place last Thursday was canceled. Redmond police were on the scene instead.<\/p>\n

Microsoft acknowledged the Building 34 lockdown in a message to all employees late last night, reassuring them that the \u201csafety of employees is our top priority\u201d at every Microsoft building worldwide. \u201cEnhanced security measures are now in place across campus, including increased patrols and monitoring to ensure the safety of all employees and visitors,\u201d says an announcement posted last night on Microsoft\u2019s internal news and events page.<\/p>\n

Microsoft isn\u2019t sharing a statement beyond Brad Smith\u2019s latest press conference, but I\u2019m sure that these employee protests won\u2019t be the last we see, especially as we\u2019re just months away from Microsoft\u2019s big Ignite conference in San Francisco. Microsoft has tried to downplay these latest protests as just a handful of current and former employees, but there are many Microsoft workers anonymously helping to organize the direct actions we\u2019ve seen over the past week.<\/p>\n

Microsoft\u2019s response will be important, particularly because the company has stumbled in the past by blocking emails<\/a> that contain \u201cPalestine,\u201d and not properly addressing worker concerns. Smith\u2019s hasty press conference was highly unusual, but it\u2019s the type of transparency that Microsoft needs more of right now, before things get out of control.<\/p>\n

Windows 11\u2019s latest update might be bricking some SSDs. A new update, KB5063878, appears to be causing issues for some SSDs. Windows 11 users report that SSDs have been failing when writing a large number of files at once after this update is installed. Microsoft hasn\u2019t managed<\/a> to reproduce the issues yet, but that hasn\u2019t stopped people from compiling lists<\/a> about affected SSDs.Microsoft reaches a settlement with Virtru over patent infringement. Data protection and privacy software company Virtu announced this week that it has reached a settlement<\/a> with Microsoft over a patent infringement lawsuit that was filed in 2022. Virtu claimed Microsoft\u2019s Purview Message Encryption feature infringed upon three of its patents, but the terms of the settlement remain confidential.Windows 11 now has better Bluetooth audio quality. Microsoft has enabled a new feature in Windows 11 that allows Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) devices to play in high-quality stereo while using a microphone<\/a>. It should greatly improve gaming audio when you\u2019re talking to friends simultaneously, or meetings conducted through Microsoft Teams. \u201cWhen using an LE Audio device with a Windows 11 PC that supports super wideband stereo, the switch into game chat no longer causes an abrupt drop in audio quality,\u201d explains Mike Ajax, a principal program manager lead at Microsoft. All you need is a Bluetooth headset that supports Bluetooth LE Audio, as well as a Windows 11 PC that also supports LE Audio and has the latest drivers and Windows 11 24H2 update. Existing PCs should get driver updates later this year, and Microsoft expects \u201cmost new mobile PCs that launch starting in late 2025 will have support from the factory.\u201dMusk prods at Microsoft again. xAI owner Elon Musk says he\u2019s building a \u201cpurely AI software company called Macrohard.\u201d It\u2019s a tongue-in-cheek name designed to take on Microsoft. \u201cGiven that software companies like Microsoft do not themselves manufacture any physical hardware, it should be possible to simulate them entirely with AI,\u201d says Musk in a post on X<\/a>.Copilot is breaking audit logs, but Microsoft won\u2019t tell you. Microsoft 365 Copilot has been found to allow access to a file and return the information without providing an update to the audit log that IT admins use. Zack Korman, CTO at Pistachio, a startup building a platform to \u201cmanage human cyber risk,\u201d discovered the issue last month<\/a> and immediately reported it to Microsoft\u2019s security teams. While Microsoft has now fixed the issue, the company is refusing to issue a CVE for the problem \u2014 an industry standard for classifying vulnerabilities. Customers are automatically protected as Microsoft 365 Copilot is a cloud-powered app, but they won\u2019t know that this ever happened without a CVE. Microsoft did a similar stealth update for another AI security issue<\/a> earlier this month, and refused to issue a CVE.Microsoft tests letting you resume Android apps on Windows 11. Microsoft is testing a new Windows 11 feature that will let you resume using your Android apps right on your PC<\/a>. Initially it only supports the Spotify app right now, and Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta channels can get early access to the feature. Microsoft isn\u2019t saying how it will expand this Handoff-like feature in the future, but the company has been gradually improving its Phone Link software to better integrate with Android phones in recent years.Microsoft is bringing PC gaming apps and stores to its Xbox app on Windows. Microsoft has started testing another handheld-friendly addition to its Xbox app, allowing PC gamers to quickly install and launch third-party apps like browsers, gaming utilities, and even rival storefronts. A new \u201cMy apps\u201d feature is being tested in the Xbox app for Windows 11<\/a>, and it looks like another way to avoid having to launch the main Microsoft Store or hunt for downloads online if you\u2019re on a gaming PC. I\u2019m liking the improvements Microsoft is making to the Xbox app for handhelds, but I still think the company needs to greatly improve the core store experience if it truly wants to compete with Steam.Microsoft\u2019s new NFL deal could let you blame Copilot AI for terrible play calls. The NFL and Microsoft have extended their arrangement that makes Surface tablets a familiar fixture on gameday sidelines, but with a new AI twist<\/a>. NFL teams can use a GitHub Copilot-based feature that filters plays to make strategy calls based on situations. There\u2019s even a Microsoft 365 Copilot-based dashboard that sorts spreadsheets for analysts to filter through game data quickly. The Surface devices are also being upgraded to Copilot Plus PC-capable ones, with a giant Copilot logo on the case carrying strap.Microsoft is rolling out personalized ads on Xbox consoles. If you boot up your Xbox console this week you\u2019ll probably be greeted with a new prompt<\/a> about selecting personalized ads. You can opt in so that game and DLC recommendations will be tailored for you, or you can disable personalized ads. If you opt out, you\u2019ll still see ads, but they\u2019ll be less relevant.Forza Horizon 6 to be unveiled soon. A leaked document has been circulating in recent weeks that reveals Forza Horizon 6 will be set in Japan. I understand the next installment of the franchise will be announced at the Tokyo Game Show next month and will indeed be set in Japan. The leak also mentions a potential tie-in with Honda, which might be another reason why Microsoft has picked the Tokyo Game Show for such a big announcement. Xbox chief Phil Spencer already revealed<\/a> \u201cthe next Forza\u201d is coming in 2026, and I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if we see it as early as the first half of the year. The big question is whether PS5 players will have to wait a little longer to play the next Forza.Microsoft expands Xbox Cloud Gaming to Game Pass Core and Standard subscribers. Microsoft is expanding its Xbox Cloud Gaming technology to Xbox Game Pass Core or Standard subscribers<\/a>, dropping the requirement for the highest tier of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for access to cloud games. As part of an Xbox Insider test, Microsoft is also providing access to some PC games for Game Pass Core and Standard subscribers. Microsoft currently restricts access to Xbox Cloud Gaming to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, meaning you have to pay $19.99 a month to get access to xCloud, so this is a great change. It comes just weeks after Microsoft hinted that it was about to make Xbox Cloud Gaming \u201cmore affordable\u201d and accessible.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m always keen to hear from readers, so please drop a comment here, or you can reach me at [email\u00a0protected]<\/a> if you want to discuss anything else. If you\u2019ve heard about any of Microsoft\u2019s secret projects, you can reach me via email at [email\u00a0protected]<\/a> or speak to me confidentially on the Signal messaging app, where I\u2019m tomwarren.01<\/a>. I\u2019m also tomwarren on Telegram, if you\u2019d prefer to chat there.<\/p>\n

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