Google signed a $1.2 billion cloud contract with Israel. Months before this contract was announced, some officials within the company warned that the contract could be linked to human rights violations. According to documents published by The New York Times, Google’s legal and policy teams and outside consultants raised these concerns with senior executives.
“Google Cloud services may be used to facilitate or be linked to human rights violations, including Israeli activities in the West Bank,” the documents stated. This situation was discussed within the company before May 2021, when Google announced the contract, but it was decided to sign the contract despite concerns about whether it would harm the company’s reputation.
This contract, called Project Nimbus, involves Google and Amazon providing cloud services to the Israeli government. According to a report by The New York Times, this contract includes providing services such as analyzing objects in images and videos with artificial intelligence tools and storing and analyzing large amounts of data.
The most lucrative part of the contract was the expected income of $ 525 million from the Israeli Ministry of Defense between 2021 and 2028. Although this amount seems relatively small compared to Google’s total revenue of $ 258 billion in 2021, the contract was considered an important step for the company to strengthen its relationships with other military and intelligence customers.
On the other hand, Google spokesmen stated that the contract was used only for applications that the Israeli government runs on the commercial cloud and is not directly related to sensitive or military operations. However, other documents published by The Intercept revealed that Project Nimbus was subject to “tailored” terms that differ from Google’s standard terms of service.
Google fired nearly 50 people who protested its deal with Israel
After signing the contract, Google fired approximately 50 employees who protested the project. Employees opposed this contract due to concerns that artificial intelligence tools could be used by the Israeli army. Google software engineer Billy Van Der Laar commented on this situation as follows: “The leadership violated our trust, our AI principles, and our humanity.”
Consulting firm Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) suggested to Google that artificial intelligence tools should not be sold to “sensitive customers” such as the Israeli army. However, it seems that these suggestions are not reflected in the contract text. The agreement states that only Google can suspend access to customers who violate its terms of service.
Recent developments indicate that Project Nimbus remains a source of tension within Google, especially in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict. How the company will maintain the balance between human rights and commercial interests continues to be discussed.