Microsoft said on Wednesday it did not think the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency was using its technology for mass surveillance of civilians but added that it provided cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools to ICE. The statement from the technology company came in response to a report by The Guardian that said ICE deepened its reliance on Microsoft's cloud technology last year as the agency ramped up arrest and deportation operations. "Microsoft policies and terms of service do not allow our technology to be used for the mass surveillance of civilians, and we do not believe ICE is engaged in such activity." ICE has become the symbol of Trump's crackdown, especially after the fatal shootings of two US citizens last month. Last September, the company said it had disabled some services used by an Israeli military unit after preliminary evidence supported a media investigation that reported mass surveillance of Palestinian phone calls.

Source: The Telegraph February 19, 2026 05:20 UTC