Microsoft's ties with ICE criticized over alleged Azure data use

No Azure for Apartheid, a worker-led organization that has protested Microsoft’s dealings with the Israeli military and its campaign in Gaza, has urged the company to end its relationship with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The call follows reporting by The Guardian, +972 Magazine and Local Call that found ICE tripled the amount of data it stored on Microsoft’s Azure servers between July 2025 and January 2026—to 1,400 terabytes—and appears to be using Microsoft’s AI tools to search and analyze that data.

Microsoft denied any allegation of wrongdoing, saying its terms and services forbid the use of its technology in mass surveillance of civilians and that "we do not believe ICE is engaged in such activity." That response echoed a statement the company released in May 2025 about the Israel Ministry of Defense’s use of Azure, in which Microsoft said it "does not have visibility into how customers use our software on their own servers or other devices ...

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