Know Your Customer: ICC Arrest Warrants For Israeli Leaders Put Big Tech On Notice

Today, the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and ex-Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the use of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts. Tech companies that are providing the Israeli government and its military with services and technologies must ensure they are not contributing to, aiding, or abetting, these crimes, as well as possibly the crime of genocide.

The arrest warrants come on the heels of extensive reports and repeated warnings from UN bodies, UN independent human rights experts, and civil society organizations pointing to a series of atrocity crimes perpetrated by the Israeli authorities against civilians in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023. Despite the grave risks of contributing to egregious violations of international law, tech companies, such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, continue to provide the Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, and its military (which was under the lead of Yoav Gallant until recently) with digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing services — which according to Israeli officials were “impactful for victory” in the ongoing war. According to several media investigations, these tools were used by Israeli forces for biometric surveillance, to process and store mass amounts of surveillance data of the 2.3 million people living in Gaza, and possibly to support automated target-generating systems such as the “Gospel” and “Lavender.”

“The ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli high officials responsible for atrocities in Gaza is a historical moment for justice. It says loud and clear that no one is above the law,” said Marwa Fatafta, MENA Policy and Advocacy Director. “It should also serve as a stark reminder for tech companies who’ve abandoned their human rights responsibilities to cash in from war.”

Companies face a heightened risk of becoming complicit, whether inadvertently or deliberately, in gross human rights abuses or international crimes committed by other actors when they operate in armed conflicts. As recently raised by the UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, Israel’s reliance on AI systems to direct its military campaign in Gaza “systematically disregards [its] obligation to distinguish between civilians and combatants and to take adequate safeguards to prevent civilian deaths, as required by international humanitarian law.”

“Big Tech must no longer sit by while allowing their tools to contribute to ongoing human rights abuses and crimes,” said Isedua Oribhabor, Business & Human Rights Manager. “It is time for them to live up to their own commitments and demonstrate that they take their human rights responsibilities seriously.”

Under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which Big Tech companies have publicly committed to upholding, companies have a responsibility to respect international humanitarian law during conflict and to ensure that they are not contributing to human rights abuses. In light of the mounting evidence of such crimes, including the recent Advisory Opinion by the International Court of Justice determining the illegality of the Israeli military occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), Big Tech cannot justify maintaining their business ties that may aid Israel’s unlawful occupation and system of apartheid and that go against their own stated commitments to upholding human rights. We, therefore, reiterate our previous calls for companies to urgently:

• Comply with the UN calls for a full arms embargo and cease the sale and transfer of surveillance technologies and other items that facilitate crimes charged in the ICC warrant.
• Withdraw or suspend business relationships, economic ties, and trade agreements with Israel that may contribute to its unlawful presence and apartheid regime in the occupied Palestinian territory.
• Conduct conflict-sensitive and heightened human rights due diligence regarding companies’ policies, operations, and supply chains, and how their presence and business operations may contribute to or exacerbate ongoing conflict.
• In the case that they cannot operate without their business activities contributing directly or indirectly to ongoing crimes, assess responsible exit strategies and cease those activities.

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