Google went ahead with its $1.2 billion contract with the Israeli government despite internal concerns over potential human rights violations.
The deal, which was announced in May 2021, gives Israel access to Google Cloud services.
Google even fired several employees who protested against the deal.
Google went ahead with its $1.2 billion contract with the Israeli government, known as Project Nimbus, despite internal concerns over potential human rights violations. The deal, which was announced in May 2021, gives Israel access to Google Cloud services, including AI tools for analysing images and videos, videoconferencing, and data storage.
Internal documents, first reported by The New York Times (via The Verge), reveal that Google executives were concerned that the cloud services could be used for human rights violations. Google’s legal and policy teams, along with external consultants, raised alarms months before the contract was signed, noting that the deal could harm the company’s reputation.
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Despite these concerns, Google chose to move forward with the deal, even firing several employees who protested against it. These employees believed that the contract could involve them in violence against Palestinians.
Project Nimbus also includes a $525 million deal with Israel’s Ministry of Defense, set to run until 2028, which is a significant but not overwhelming amount for a company like Google, which made $258 billion in sales in 2021.
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Google has defended the contract, stating that it is for commercial cloud services and does not involve sensitive military work. However, separate reports suggest that Project Nimbus is subject to “adjusted” terms of service, different from Google’s usual commercial cloud policies.
In the months before the deal, consultants recommended that Google ensure its AI tools were not used for military purposes and include safeguards against misuse. These recommendations, however, were not fully adopted in the final contract, which does include a right to suspend customers violating Google’s terms of service.
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Ayushi Jain
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