Microsoft has fired software engineer Joe Lopez for disrupting CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote speech at the company’s annual developer conference, Build 2025. Lopez protested Microsoft’s partnership with the Israeli military amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza, shouting “Free Palestine” during the event.
The incident occurred when Lopez stood up from the audience and questioned Microsoft’s involvement with the Israeli military, stating, “How about you show them how Microsoft is killing Palestinians? How about you show them how Israeli war crimes are powered by Azure?” Security personnel subsequently escorted him out of the Seattle Convention Center.
According to the advocacy group No Azure for Apartheid, Lopez received a termination letter following the protest, although he claimed to be unable to open the document. After the incident, Lopez sent a mass email to Microsoft colleagues challenging the company’s statements about its Azure cloud services being used in Gaza.
“Leadership rejects our claims that Azure technology is being used to target or harm civilians in Gaza,” Lopez wrote. “Those of us who have been paying attention know that this is a bold-faced lie. Every byte of data that is stored on the cloud (much of it likely containing data obtained by illegal mass surveillance) can and will be used as justification to level cities and exterminate Palestinians.”
This was not an isolated incident; multiple pro-Palestinian protests took place during the four-day conference. At least three executive sessions were disrupted, and demonstrators gathered outside the venue. Other protests included a former software engineer, Vaniya Agrawal, and another fired Microsoft employee, Hossam Nasr, confronting the company’s head of security for AI, Neta Haiby.
Last week, Microsoft acknowledged supplying AI services to the Israeli military but stated it found no evidence that its Azure cloud or AI tools were used to directly target or harm civilians in Gaza. However, internal dissent continues, with employee-led groups claiming that the company has blocked internal emails containing terms like “Palestine” and “Gaza.”
