Microsoft to give employees a chance to flag ethical concerns amid Middle East backlash

Microsoft

Microsoft has introduced a “Trusted Technology Review” process for its 200,000-plus employees, allowing them to report ethical concerns about how the company’s products or cloud services are used. The move, disclosed in a memo by company president Brad Smith, comes after mounting criticism of Microsoft’s alleged involvement in Israeli military operations during the Gaza conflict.

In his note, Smith said the new feature is built into Microsoft’s employee portal and will let workers raise issues confidentially or anonymously, covered under the firm’s non-retaliation policy. The system is aimed at identifying questionable technology use cases before or after deployment.

The change follows recent turbulence inside Microsoft. In August, The Guardian reported that Israel’s Unit 8200 had used Microsoft’s Azure cloud to build surveillance tools for tracking Palestinians, sparking internal protests and an investigation by the company. Some employees were fired or resigned amid the backlash.

Despite record financial performance and a soaring share price, the company has faced rising internal strain over layoffs, return-to-office mandates and questions about global contracts. A separate July report highlighted U.S. Defence Department projects managed by Microsoft engineers in China, further fuelling scrutiny of its operations.

Smith said Microsoft will also expand its pre-contract review process to include deeper human rights due diligence. The move marks a broader effort to strengthen ethical governance as the tech giant’s influence in AI and cloud infrastructure grows.