Microsoft Accused of Enabling Israeli Military Surveillance of Palestinians
Civil rights organizations filed a formal complaint with Irish regulators accusing Microsoft of unlawfully storing personal data of Palestinians collected through mass surveillance by Israeli military intelligence, allegedly facilitating targeted military operations and crimes against humanity.
What happened
The Eco NGO and Irish Council for Civil Liberties filed a complaint with the Irish Data Protection Commission in December 2025, accusing Microsoft of unlawfully retaining personal data of Palestinians collected by the Israeli military through mass surveillance and storing it on servers within the European Union.
According to reporting by the Guardian in August 2025, the Israeli military intelligence unit Unit 8200 used Microsoft's Azure cloud service to store millions of Palestinian phone calls, text messages, and audio recordings from Gaza and the West Bank, primarily on servers in Ireland and the Netherlands.
The complaint alleges that Microsoft enabled Unit 8200 to build a mass surveillance system allowing intelligence officers to collect, replay, and analyze cellular communications of entire populations, and facilitated Israeli military targeting operations.
Reported impact
The complaint states that the data processing facilitated Israeli military war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, and that Microsoft's infrastructure exposed millions of Palestinians to harm.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties stated that Microsoft's cloud technology 'enabled real violence' and that data storage capabilities allowed for directed air strikes and other military operations.
Index analysis
Microsoft terminated access to some of Unit 8200's cloud storage and AI services in September 2025 following an external investigation that discovered violations of terms of service.
The complaint alleges Microsoft removed evidence from European servers to prevent potential regulatory investigation. The Irish Data Protection Commission confirmed receipt of the complaint and stated it was under evaluation.
Governance controls
Microsoft's European headquarters are located in Dublin, placing it under the jurisdiction of the Irish Data Protection Commission for GDPR enforcement. The GDPR imposes fines up to 4% of global revenues on companies that violate data privacy, particularly when data is used in military or political contexts.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.