I would like to see a similar audit from AWS and Google Cloud with similar transparency.
bigyabai•8h ago
Can you point to the transparency? I don't entirely trust Microsoft to tell me how ethical they are.
bhouston•8h ago
It details what it did:
> "Our relationship with the IMOD is structured as a standard commercial relationship. Like all our customers, the IMOD’s use of our technology is bound by Microsoft’s terms of service and conditions of use, including our Acceptable Use Policy and our AI Code of Conduct. "
> "In addition to the commercial relationship with the IMOD, Microsoft provided limited emergency support to the Israeli government in the weeks following October 7, 2023, to help rescue hostages. We provided this help with significant oversight and on a limited basis, including approval of some requests and denial of others. We believe the company followed its principles on a considered and careful basis, to help save the lives of hostages while also honoring the privacy and other rights of civilians in Gaza."
And then it says that it has ensured that its standard terms of service (which Microsoft links to) are being followed on its cloud services. This is actually really good.
There are exceptions but this is outside of Microsoft's services/cloud:
> "It is worth noting that militaries typically use their own proprietary software or applications from defense-related providers for the types of surveillance and operations that have been the subject of our employees’ questions. Microsoft has not created or provided such software or solutions to the IMOD."
> "It is important to acknowledge that Microsoft does not have visibility into how customers use our software on their own servers or other devices. This is typically the case for on premise software. Nor do we have visibility to the IMOD’s government cloud operations, which are supported through contracts with cloud providers other than Microsoft. By definition, our reviews do not cover these situations."
This is pretty informative.
Remember that Google Cloud created a special agreement that exempted Israel from their standard terms of service and also make it not possible to monitor what Israel was doing with Google Cloud. This does not seem to be the case with Microsoft Azure - which is good.
It is still a shame that Microsoft didn't cut Israel off yet as they did with Russia after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but this is still progress.
beardyw•8h ago
I don't think something so vague will convince anyone but those wanting to be convinced.
Also I understand that Israel's use of Azure is only at around $30M, unlike the massive deal with Google Cloud.
I guess my point is that we need Google to do an audit like this at the minimum now (given this precedent) and show this type of transparency as that is the system that is primarily used by Israel's IDF.
bhouston•8h ago
https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2025/05/15/stateme...
I would like to see a similar audit from AWS and Google Cloud with similar transparency.
bigyabai•8h ago
bhouston•8h ago
> "Our relationship with the IMOD is structured as a standard commercial relationship. Like all our customers, the IMOD’s use of our technology is bound by Microsoft’s terms of service and conditions of use, including our Acceptable Use Policy and our AI Code of Conduct. "
> "In addition to the commercial relationship with the IMOD, Microsoft provided limited emergency support to the Israeli government in the weeks following October 7, 2023, to help rescue hostages. We provided this help with significant oversight and on a limited basis, including approval of some requests and denial of others. We believe the company followed its principles on a considered and careful basis, to help save the lives of hostages while also honoring the privacy and other rights of civilians in Gaza."
And then it says that it has ensured that its standard terms of service (which Microsoft links to) are being followed on its cloud services. This is actually really good.
There are exceptions but this is outside of Microsoft's services/cloud:
> "It is worth noting that militaries typically use their own proprietary software or applications from defense-related providers for the types of surveillance and operations that have been the subject of our employees’ questions. Microsoft has not created or provided such software or solutions to the IMOD."
> "It is important to acknowledge that Microsoft does not have visibility into how customers use our software on their own servers or other devices. This is typically the case for on premise software. Nor do we have visibility to the IMOD’s government cloud operations, which are supported through contracts with cloud providers other than Microsoft. By definition, our reviews do not cover these situations."
This is pretty informative.
Remember that Google Cloud created a special agreement that exempted Israel from their standard terms of service and also make it not possible to monitor what Israel was doing with Google Cloud. This does not seem to be the case with Microsoft Azure - which is good.
It is still a shame that Microsoft didn't cut Israel off yet as they did with Russia after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but this is still progress.
beardyw•8h ago
bhouston•8h ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44006247
Please note that this is quite different than Google Cloud's usage by Israels: https://theintercept.com/2025/05/12/google-nimbus-israel-mil...
Also I understand that Israel's use of Azure is only at around $30M, unlike the massive deal with Google Cloud.
I guess my point is that we need Google to do an audit like this at the minimum now (given this precedent) and show this type of transparency as that is the system that is primarily used by Israel's IDF.