Microsoft employees have expressed concern that the company is blocking emails containing certain words, including “Palestine,” “Gaza,” “genocide,” “apartheid,” and “IOF off Azure.” This issue surfaced on internal message boards where employees questioned why their emails with these terms were not being delivered.
Discovery of the Issue
According to CNBC, which reviewed internal messages and spoke with three sources familiar with the matter, employees began noticing a change in email delivery just before noon PST on Wednesday. They conducted batch testing of emails with and without the disputed terms, finding that only those without the terms appeared in their outboxes.
- One employee, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, reported that they successfully sent a typical work-related email around 11:30 a.m. PST on Wednesday. However, subsequent emails sent just before noon failed to go through, allegedly due to their email signature containing one of the blocked words.
Company Response
Frank Shaw, Microsoft’s chief communications officer, addressed employee concerns by stating:
“To clarify, emails are not being blocked or censored unless they are being sent to large numbers of random distribution groups.”
The exact reason behind Microsoft’s decision remains unclear at this time. It is also uncertain whether this policy applies only within Microsoft or if it affects external recipients as well.
Ongoing Updates
CNBC will continue to update this article as new information becomes available throughout Thursday afternoon EST (Friday morning Pacific). In response to an inquiry from CNBC about how long these restrictions have been in place and what other words might be affected, beyond those mentioned, Shaw indicated that he would provide more information later Thursday afternoon EST (Friday morning Pacific).
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