On May 19, 2025, Microsoft’s flagship developer event, Build 2025, was disrupted by a public protest during CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote address. The interruption came from Joe Lopez, a Microsoft employee, who vocally condemned the company’s cloud and AI service contracts with the Israeli government. The incident has sparked fresh debate over ethical business practices and internal dissent within major tech corporations.
Protest Unfolds During Keynote
Lopez, a firmware engineer on the Azure hardware systems team, interrupted the keynote shortly after it began. Standing up in the middle of the audience, he shouted, “Free Palestine” and demanded that Microsoft cease its involvement in military technologies. Holding a sign and speaking out loudly, Lopez urged fellow attendees to recognize what he described as the company’s complicity in violence against civilians in Gaza.
Security quickly intervened and escorted him out of the venue. The moment, however, had already drawn attention from attendees and media. In a subsequent email circulated to thousands of Microsoft employees, Lopez detailed his reasons for the protest, expressing frustration with what he described as leadership’s silence and lack of transparency.
Ethical Business Practices in Question
The protest has reignited ongoing discussions about the role of major tech firms in international conflicts. Lopez’s statement claimed that Microsoft’s provision of Azure cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence tools to Israel’s Ministry of Defense makes it complicit in human rights violations. He called on the company to investigate and terminate these contracts and align its corporate behavior with the values it claims to uphold.
Microsoft has maintained that it operates under strict ethical guidelines and performs due diligence on all international contracts. Internal and third-party reviews have been conducted, according to company statements, and no direct misuse of its technologies has been identified. However, critics within and outside the company argue that enabling military operations indirectly—through tools and infrastructure—raises serious moral concerns, regardless of direct use.
Growing Internal Dissent
This protest is not an isolated incident. In recent months, Microsoft has seen increasing levels of employee activism related to its partnerships. In April, similar protests occurred during the company’s 50th-anniversary celebrations, where demonstrators confronted key executives with demands to reevaluate Microsoft’s role in geopolitically sensitive regions.
A growing network of employees operating under the banner “No Azure for Apartheid” has emerged, calling for complete divestment from military and surveillance contracts with the Israeli state. The group asserts that continuing these relationships aligns Microsoft with oppressive regimes and erodes trust among employees and the public.
Industry-Wide Implications
The protest at Build 2025 represents a larger movement across the tech industry. As global tensions rise, workers are demanding increased transparency and ethical accountability from their employers. Similar controversies have unfolded at companies like Google and Amazon, where internal petitions and resignations have followed revelations of government contracts involving surveillance or military use.
Microsoft, like its peers, faces a challenging balancing act: navigating profitable contracts while addressing growing internal resistance and reputational risks. The Build 2025 protest is a stark reminder that employees are no longer willing to remain silent on issues they believe compromise their values.
