Microsoft was accused on Friday, 12 July 2024 of shutting down email accounts owned by Palestinians using Skype to call Gaza, an investigation by BBC revealed.
The investigation uncovered that several Palestinians living abroad had their Microsoft-owned voice and video chat accounts terminated without warning, “destroying their digital lives.”
“I’ve had this Hotmail account for 15 years. They banned me for no reason, saying I violated their terms — what terms? Tell me.” Salah Elsadi, a Palestinian in the US, told the BBC.
According to the investigation, some 20 cases where Palestinians had their accounts suspended without any explanation or prior notice.
The impacted explained that a paid Skype subscription allowed them to make affordable mobile calls to Gaza, providing a vital service for many Palestinians during Internet outages.
“We are civilians with no political background who just wanted to check on our families,” said Eiad Hametto, who has been calling his family from Saudi Arabia.
“They’ve suspended my email account that I’ve had for nearly 20 years. It was connected to all my work. They killed my life online,” Hametto added.
A Microsoft spokesperson explained that the company does not block calls or ban users based on the calling region or destination.
“Blocking in Skype can occur in response to suspected fraudulent activity.”, he added.
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