The war in Gaza is one of the deadliest and most destructive wars in recent history — creating a “hell on Earth.” In just over a year, more wome

Big Tech and the risk of genocide in Gaza: what are companies doing?

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2024-10-11 10:00:15

The war in Gaza is one of the deadliest and most destructive wars in recent history — creating a “hell on Earth.” In just over a year, more women and children have been killed by the Israeli military than in any other conflict over the past two decades. On average, 10 children a day lose one or both legs. More than 902 entire families have been obliterated; at least 17,000 children have been orphaned; and 90 percent of the population has been displaced, some as many as 10 times. With 80 percent of its buildings destroyed, there are no safe places left to go inside Gaza, and no escape possible beyond its borders. In January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) determined that Palestinians in Gaza have plausible rights to be protected from genocide — and concluded that those rights are at real and imminent risk of irreparable damage.

Technology is playing a central role in enabling the relentless mass slaughter and destruction unleashed in Gaza. From supplying the dystopian AI systems used to automate the killing and bombing, to facilitating the spread of state-sponsored disinformation and online incitement to violence and war crimes, Big Tech is deeply embroiled in this brutal war. However, the impunity with which Israeli authorities have been allowed to wage this war has also served to shield technology companies from scrutiny. Not only have companies failed to uphold their human rights commitments in times of war, they have also dismissed, ignored, and even punished dissenting voices among their own ranks, civil society, and the public flagging their possible complicity in what the UN’s top independent expert on Palestine describes as an unfolding genocide. This post interrogates how technology companies can be potentially facilitating or contributing to an endless list of egregious violations of international law, including the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, currently under investigation by the ICJ and the International Criminal Court (ICC). We also provide companies with recommendations to avoid potential complicity in such violations.