How Microsoft Helped Build The Censorship Industry

Microsoft aims to smoothly transition from one presidential administration to the next. The company recently secured a major win in DC, receiving the official blessing of the President in a $500 billion AI investment partnership between SoftBank, Oracle, and Microsoft’s OpenAI. But as official policy turns against online censorship, the tech giant may have to confront its track record of deep involvement in the suppression of Americans’ online speech.

Newly uncovered evidence now shows that Microsoft served as the tip of the spear in the private sector in censorship-industrial complex – the coordinated effort between corporations, government agencies, NGOs and academics to restrict American speech.

Microsoft not only participated but actively funded and partnered with several key initiatives aimed at controlling online content, including the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public (CIP), and the DHS-born Election Integrity Partnership to which it belongs.

Records now show that many of the same government officials who spearheaded the most pernicious censorship initiatives between 2016 and 2020 later transitioned to top roles at Microsoft, where they continue to advance these efforts today under the company’s umbrella.

The Microsoft records show how the convergence of unchecked corporate power and government influence was used to suppress free expression and raises serious new questions about one of America’s most powerful companies’ commitment to the integrity of public discourse and preservation of constitutional rights.

Defending Democracy

Launched in April 2018, the Defending Democracy initiative was described as a collaboration between Microsoft, government agencies, think tanks, and academic institutions aimed at “safeguarding electoral processes.” One of its primary goals was to counter so-called “state-sponsored” disinformation campaigns and curb the spread of “junk news.”

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Jordan

During the last few years, my MS device would crash and collect data every time I was in a website for one of the Disinformation Dozen. It eventually died and I will never again buy a MS product.