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Comment by pbiggar | Hacker News Reader

If you'd like to know more about Microsoft's human rights issues, I had a lead campaigner discuss it with me on my podcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A95asBbCNZo

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With a 1:16:29 runtime, could you at least share what parts are relevant to this submission, the very least timestamps? Even if I'd speed it up by 4x it'd take 30 minutes to listen to all of it.

Or you ask Gemini to do this for you (timestamps were removed when formatting into markdown)

Based on the podcast "Microsoft: Powering Israel’s Genocide? | Hossam Nasr," here are the main human rights issues alleged against Microsoft:

1. Complicity in Military Operations - The podcast claims Microsoft is a key tech provider for the Israeli military, specifically using the Azure cloud platform to run combat and intelligence activities. - It alleges Microsoft sells AI services (including OpenAI models) to military units like "Mamram," which are linked to automated targeting systems used to accelerate lethal strikes.

2. Surveillance and Infrastructure - Microsoft is accused of hosting roughly 13.6 petabytes of data used for mass surveillance. - The "Al-Munassiq" app, used by Palestinians to manage movement permits, reportedly runs on Azure and is described as a tool for collecting vast amounts of surveillance data. - The company reportedly sells technology directly to illegal settlements in the West Bank.

3. Internal Labor Rights & Suppression - The speaker alleges a double standard and discrimination against Palestinian and Arab employees. - Microsoft is accused of "weaponizing" HR policies to fire workers (including the podcast guest) for organizing vigils or protesting the company's military contracts.

4. Historical Context - The discussion references Microsoft's history of providing tech to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) in the US as part of a broader pattern of supporting "systems of oppression."

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A95asBbCNZo

Prompt: “ According to this podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A95asBbCNZo

What are the main human rights issues of Microsoft?”

Used Gemini 3 (Thinking) via WebUI

No parts of it are relevant to this submission, because (as others explained to you elsewhere in the thread) the submission is about Norway objecting to Microsoft doing business with Saudi Arabia, whereas GP is about attacking Microsoft's ties to Israel.

(For some reason, doing business with Saudi Arabia is not counted as evidence against the "Zionist", "genocide" etc. etc. narrative.)

> (For some reason, doing business with Saudi Arabia is not counted as evidence against the "Zionist", "genocide" etc. etc. narrative.)

Why would "Saudi Arabia treats workers badly" be evidence against the idea that Israel is committing genocide ?

"Microsoft puts capital into Arabic countries" is evidence against "Microsoft has connections to Israel for ideological reasons".

Probably you're not cynical enough. Israel is led by the same guy as last century, Saudi Arabia has been run by the same rich assholes since before my mother was born. The "ideology" involved is the same in both cases: wealthy, powerful old men are assholes. Microsoft is willing to turn a blind eye to them being assholes, to get $$$

My complaint is about people accusing Microsoft of taking sides when they are simply doing the capitalist thing, which I more or less agree with you about.

Of course they're taking sides. It's still taking sides when you get paid. Mercenaries take sides too, for money.

I guess either Hollywood or American Politics tricks people into thinking there are always exactly two sides, but life isn't like that.

It is even entirely possible, and indeed profitable, to get paid by country A to help them kill country B's peasants, and by country B to help kill A's peasants and everybody is happy with this situation, except the peasants of course and maybe anybody who recognises that this is morally abhorrent...

If you get paid by both sides, you are not taking sides.

"Both" sides is exactly the Hollywood / US politics misunderstanding that I'm pointing at.

They aren't working for "both" sides because that implies there are somehow exactly two parties. Are Hamas also big Microsoft customers? No. How about all those mistreated workers in Saudi Arabia, are they also hiring Microsoft? No again.

Microsoft does two different awful things, that doesn't somehow cancel out, and when people insist that somehow it does they're at best showing that their understanding of morality is very limited and at worst desperately making excuses for evil.

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