Microsoft investigating Israeli firm over surveillance of West Bank Palestinians

Former US Attorney General Eric Holder will lead a team of former federal prosecutors conducting an audit of the company

epa07942258 (FILE) - The Microsoft Windows logo at the COMPUTEX, the largest computer show in Asia, in Taipei, Taiwan, 31 May 2016 (reissued 23 October 2019). Microsoft is to release their fiscal year 2020 first quarter earnings on 23 October 2019.  EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO *** Local Caption *** 52790591
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Microsoft is investigating an Israeli facial recognition startup over concerns that it is using technology to conduct mass surveillance of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Microsoft said in a statement on Friday that former US Attorney General Eric Holder will lead a team of former federal prosecutors conducting an audit to review its investment in the firm.

Its aim is to determine whether Israeli firm AnyVision's technology applications comply with Microsoft's ethical principles against using facial recognition for mass surveillance.

AnyVision announced a $74 million investment in June from a group including Microsoft's venture capital arm. The firm and its Microsoft backing attracted public scrutiny as the Israeli military installed face scanners at border crossings where Palestinians enter Israel from the West Bank.

AnyVision has said its technology is used at border crossings similarly to how facial recognition is used at some airports.

AnyVision, based outside Tel Aviv, has come under scrutiny following reports by Haaretz’s TheMarker business newspaper and NBC News that its technology is used to surveil Palestinians who live in the occupied West Bank, including potential assailants. Many Palestinian attacks have taken place against Israeli soldiers

The probe reflects growing unease about facial recognition surveillance in the United States and elsewhere that civil liberties groups say could lead to unfair arrests and limit freedom of expression.

Microsoft announced facial recognition ethics principles last year, saying the company would “advocate for safeguards for people’s democratic freedoms in law enforcement surveillance scenarios and will not deploy facial recognition technology in scenarios that we believe will put these freedoms at risk.”

M12, the venture fund of Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, participated in a $74 million series A investment round that AnyVision announced in June.

Israel faces criticism and a boycott for its occupation and policies toward Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

AnyVision in an August blog post also said that it would announce an ethics advisory board and that it had a responsibility to prevent its technology’s abuse. At the same time, it touted how facial recognition speeds up border crossings while helping law enforcement spot criminals.

Microsoft itself markets a facial recognition tool and backed a U.S. Senate bill, announced on Thursday, that would require a court order before federal law enforcement could use the technology for targeted, ongoing surveillance.

Neema Singh Guliani, senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the bill “falls woefully short of protecting people’s privacy rights.”

The company has the former head of Israel's Mossad spy agency, Tamir Pardo, on its advisory board.