Microsoft sued by Irish human rights group over helping Israel facilitate killing of Palestinians

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) filed a complaint against Microsoft to the Data Protection Commission (DPC) for conducting unlawful data processing on behalf of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in Gaza on Thursday. 

The ICCL said the complaint concerns processing by Microsoft Ireland that facilitated the killing of civilians in Gaza by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF); continues to enable mass surveillance of individuals in the entire occupied Palestinian territory; and enables the illegal Israeli occupation of and its apartheid regime in Palestine.

ICCL has asked the DPC to urgently investigate Microsoft Ireland's processing, which continues to enable human rights violations. The human rights organisation has also asked the DPC to exercise its powers to stop this unlawful processing.

When EU infrastructure is used to enable surveillance and targeting, the Irish Data Protection Commission must step in — and it must use its full powers to hold Microsoft to account," executive director of ICCL Joe O’Brien said.