Google knew Israel may use its tools for rights violations: Report
American technology giant Google knew that a powerful cloud-computing tool it was supplying to the Israeli regime as part of a contract four years ago could be used for rights violations against the Palestinians, according to the findings of a report.
The Monday report by The Intercept said it had obtained internal Google documents showing the company feared it wouldn’t be able to control Israel’s misuse of its technology to harm Palestinians.
The report said that Google understood that the way its Project Nimbus deal had been designed could deprive it of the ability to prevent the Israeli regime and military from using the software against Palestinians.
The tech giant also knew that the multi-billion-dollar deal won in 2021 would obligate it to stonewall criminal investigations by other countries into Israel’s use of the technology, said the report.
It said that experts hired by Google had recommended that the company withhold machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) tools from Israel because of these risk factors.
International law experts told The Intercept that Google’s awareness of the risks of misusing the Project Nimbus by the Israeli government and army may pose legal liability for the company.
“They’re aware of the risk that their products might be used for rights violations … At the same time, they will have limited ability to identify and ultimately mitigate these risks,” said León Castellanos-Jankiewicz, a lawyer with the Asser Institute for International and European Law in The Hague.
The revelations come as Israel continues its genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where it has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands more since launching an invasion against the territory in October 2023.
There have been reports suggesting that the Israeli regime has used AI tools supplied by US technology firms to target and kill civilians in Gaza.
