No Azure for Apartheid, a worker-led organization, has urged Microsoft to end its relationship with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after learning that the agency has tripled the amount of data stored on Azure servers.
According to reports, ICE’s storage has reached 1,400 terabytes, and it is suspected that it is using Microsoft’s artificial intelligence (AI) tools to analyze this data.
Microsoft is behind ICE
The organization claims that Microsoft acts as a “provider of digital weapons,” supporting the surveillance and repression of communities both in Palestine and in the United States. Despite the accusations, Microsoft has denied any use of its tools for mass surveillance, insisting that its policies prohibit such uses and that they do not believe ICE is engaged in such activities.
Since 2018, Microsoft employees have expressed their support for communities affected by ICE’s actions and have demanded an end to collaboration with the agency. A group of technology professionals has launched a petition through ICEout.tech, demanding the removal of ICE from U.S. cities and the cancellation of contracts with the agency.
ICE’s spending on technology has been significant, positioning it as the best-funded law enforcement agency in the U.S., which has allowed it to acquire services from multiple technology companies, including Microsoft. Leaked documents indicate that they are using Azure tools to store and analyze data, although they do not specify the type of information being stored.
In a statement, No Azure for Apartheid highlighted that the same technology from Microsoft that supports Israel is also being used by ICE against migrant communities in the United States. As public pressure increases for tech companies to reconsider their collaborations with agencies like ICE, the debate over the ethical use of technology in law enforcement intensifies.
