Microsoft has begun blocking emails containing the words 'Palestine' and 'Gaza'

Microsoft employees have found that any emails they send that contain the words “Palestine” or “Gaza” are temporarily blocked from being sent to recipients inside and outside the company. The protest group No Azure for Apartheid (NOAA) reports that “dozens of Microsoft employees” have been unable to send messages that contain the words in the subject or body, The Verge reports .

"Words like 'Israel' or 'P4lestine' do not trigger such blocking," said NOAA organizer Hossam Nasr, adding that this is an attempt to suppress free speech and censorship by the leadership.

Microsoft confirmed to the publication that it had made some changes to reduce the amount of "politically charged emails" within the company. Company spokesman Frank Shaw noted that tens of thousands of employees had received a number of politically charged messages over the past few days, forcing executives to take action.

Earlier, it became known that Microsoft had decided to lay off some employees around the world. According to company representatives, the layoffs will affect three percent of employees at all levels, in different teams and regions. This is the largest round of layoffs since the reduction of ten thousand positions in 2023 (about five percent of the total workforce).