The Israeli business daily Globes revealed that Microsoft has temporarily moved the management of its Israeli branch to France following an internal investigation into allegations that it provided services to Israeli security agencies and monitored data related to Palestinians.
The newspaper reported that “Microsoft decided to temporarily move the management of its Israeli branch to France following an internal investigation into allegations that it provided services to Israeli security agencies in a manner that may conflict with its internal policies and code of ethics.”
The report stated that the investigation addressed information concerning the storage of data related to the monitoring of Palestinians on company servers located in Europe, “which raised legal and regulatory concerns within the company, especially in light of European laws related to data protection and privacy.”
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The newspaper noted that Microsoft’s general manager in Israel, Alon Haimovich, recently stepped down after four years in his position, and that several officials in the government relations department also left.
It reported that a team from the company’s global management visited Israel in recent weeks to conduct an internal review of the nature of its cooperation with the Israeli security establishment, amid concerns that the company’s services might be used in ways that violate its terms of service.
It added that the management of the Israeli branch has been temporarily relocated to France until a new manager is appointed.
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