Internal documents reveal that Google's in-house lawyers were concerned that Israel's $1.9 billion contract with the company, Project Nimbus, could lead to human rights violations
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In May 2021, Google signed a contract to build a cloud computing system in Israel called Project Nimbus . However, four months before the contract was signed, it was revealed that Google's legal and policy teams, as well as external consultants, were concerned that the contract could lead to human rights violations.
Google Worried Israeli Contract Could Enable Human Rights Violations - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/03/technology/google-israel-contract-project-nimbus.html
Documents Contradict Google's Claims About Its Project Nimbus Contract With Israel
https://theintercept.com/2024/12/02/google-project-nimbus-ai-israel/
Abolitionist Law Center Reports to UN: Amazon and Google Complicit in Israel's Genocide and Apartheid against Palestinians - Abolitionist Law Center
https://abolitionistlawcenter.org/2024/12/02/abolitionist-law-center-reports-to-un-amazon-and-google-complicit-in-israels-genocide-and-apartheid-against-palestinians/
Project Nimbus, a cloud computing project jointly between Google and Amazon for the Israeli government and military, is a seven-year contract signed in May 2021.
Project Nimbus will primarily provide data centers and cloud services to Israeli government agencies, including processing power to run applications and AI tools, technology to analyze images and videos to detect objects, large-scale data storage services, and even general software services such as Google's video conferencing system.
In terms of revenue, the largest source of income is expected to be the Israeli Ministry of Defense, at approximately $525 million between 2021 and 2028. This is significantly more than the expected $208 million from the central government. Including revenues from local governments and medical institutions, the total project revenue is expected to be approximately $1.26 billion.
However, the project was highly controversial. According to internal Google documents, even before the contract was signed, concerns were raised about the possibility of Google's involvement in human rights violations due to the inclusion of 'sensitive customers' such as the Israeli Ministry of Defense and Israeli security agencies. There were concerns that Google's cloud services could be used to commit human rights violations, especially in relation to Israeli activities in Western Jordan.
The report also pointed out complex risks to the contract, such as potential conflicts with international law and how to respond to requests from foreign countries and international organizations regarding Israeli data. Google's human rights consulting firm recommended limiting the provision of AI to the Israeli military and monitoring its use, but the final contract did not include such restrictions.
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In addition, foreign media The Intercept points out the existence of internal documents that show that Google's claim that 'general terms of service apply' is not true.
In an internal email sent on December 10, 2020, Google lawyer Edward du Boulay warned that the company would have to accept 'non-negotiable contract terms' favorable to the Israeli government. It also revealed that the Israeli government had the right to unilaterally change the terms of the contract, leaving Google with little ability to sue Israel for any violations of permitted uses.
The Israeli government's contract documents indicate that Google's standard terms of service will not apply, but that 'tailored terms of service' will apply instead. The specific content of these 'tailored terms of service' has not been disclosed, but the Israeli government is 'free to use any services included in the provider's service catalog.'
Additionally, documents for Project Nimbus' 'digital marketplace' state that 'all types of systems and information, including highly classified and critical systems,' can be migrated to the service, contradicting Google's previous claims that it is not intended for 'sensitive military or intelligence services.'
By Gwen Fran
The Project Nimbus contract is still ongoing at the time of writing, but there has been growing opposition both inside and outside Google, especially over the war in the Gaza Strip from October 2023 onwards, and employees have protested, resulting in the firing of about 50 employees.
More than 50 former Google employees who were fired for protesting Google's business ties with Israel have filed a complaint with regulators alleging illegal retaliation, with some even claiming they were fired for simply watching the protests - GIGAZINE
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