Microsoft CEO plays down ICE contract in internal memo to employees
Microsoft has faced widespread criticism after its boasts of working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to help the agency “process data on edge devices or utilize deep learning capabilities to accelerate facial recognition and identification.” Social media users discovered the phrasing in a blog post from January, and the statement was briefly removed in error before Microsoft condemned the Trump administration’s new policy of separating children from families crossing the border.
More than 100 Microsoft employees are now calling on Microsoft to cancel its ICE contracts, create a policy to not work with clients that violate international human rights law, and commit to transparency around Microsoft government contracts. “We...