Tech giants censure criticism of Israel while imposing blackouts in Gaza

Apple Maps, Google Maps, and Waze have left out the name Palestine altogether adopting Israeli definitions of borders and including names of settlements instead

Sara Gironi Carnevale

Web Summit CEO Paddy Cosgrave is forced to resign because of his comments alleging Israeli war crimes in Gaza. On their part, Google, Apple and Waze imposed a traffic congestion blackout in Gaza.

Tech giants censure criticism of Israel while imposing blackouts in Gaza

Abdel-Rahman Ayas

last update on 31 Oct 2023

Before Israel launched is ground assault on Gaza, internet and phone services were knocked out in a targeted hit on the technological infrastructure of the already devastated territory.

The Palestine Telecommunications Company – Paltel – reported that “all telecommunications and internet services have been disrupted”. That followed Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Galant telling a small group of foreign journalists that ground operations would be prolonged.

Palestinians in Gaza rely on the internet to communicate with one another and also report and bear witness to the atrocities and disseminate them to the world, especially because of the biased slant of Western media toward Israel.

Palestinian activists told reporters in the Arab media and beyond that Israel had also jammed the telecoms infrastructure that survived the bombing.

Traffic blackout on online maps

Live traffic information offered by Apple and Google on the US tech firms’ mapping apps stopped providing assessment of road traffic conditions on roads in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, at the request of Israeli armed forces.

But the applications will continue to provide users with directions to the areas they want to reach. The companies confirmed they did the same in Ukraine at the request of Kyiv authorities after Russia’s invasion began in February 2022.

Reuters — A satellite image shows destroyed neighbourhoods in Gaza's Beit Hanoun neighbourhood.

The apps concerned – Apple Maps, Google Maps, and Waze – have sparked controversy in the Middle East before. This has included where they have drawn the boundaries for the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. They have left out the name Palestine altogether adopting Israeli definitions of borders and including names of settlements instead.

Palestinians in Gaza rely on the internet to communicate with one another and also report and bear witness to the atrocities and disseminate them to the world, especially because of the biased slant of Western media toward Israel.

Citing "security" concerns, Israel has pressured the tech sector to impose restrictions several times before.

In 1997, the United States passed legislation known as the Kyl–Bingaman Amendment, following so-called Israeli security concerns. It limited the freedom of US satellite owners to provide map applications with clear satellite images of Israeli areas and even areas in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

It was struck down in 2020 after companies lobbied Congress, driven by fear of competition from European companies that provided clear images unconditionally. Apple Maps and Google Maps didn't publish satellite images of Gaza until shortly after the legislation was repealed.

Web Summit resignation

One of the biggest events in the tech industry's calendar has also been drawn into the controversy around the war, and how it is being viewed, particularly in the West.

The chief executive of the annual Web Summit – due to be held from 13 to 16 November in Lisbon – was forced to resign for comments he made on Israel's war on Gaza.

Paddy Cosgrave, who founded the event in 2009, said on social media that "War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are".

I'm shocked at the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders & governments, with the exception in particular of Ireland's government, who for once are doing the right thing. War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are.
— Paddy Cosgrave (@paddycosgrave) October 13, 2023

His words came on 13 October, six days after Hamas attacked Israel in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

Posting on the social network X, the Irishman also said he was "shocked at the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders & governments, with the exception in particular of Ireland's government, who for once are doing the right thing."

That was enough for some of the biggest names in the industry to threaten to pull out, including Google's parent company, Alphabet, chipmaker Intel, Facebook owner Meta, German giant Siemens and financial services firm Stripe.

Western media reports said that along with the boycott, event sponsors threatened to pull funding. Some investors in tech firms also said they would drop investments if companies attended.

After Cosgrave made comments alleging Israeli war crimes, the biggest names in the industry threatened to pull out of the annual Web Summit, including Google's parent company, Alphabet, chipmaker Intel, Facebook owner Meta, German giant Siemens and financial services firm Stripe. He later stepped down from his position as CEO.

Cosgrave apologised and later followed up his post with statements attacking Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, which included civilian targets, and stressed Israel's "right to exist and defend itself."

But it was not enough to save his job. He said in his resignation statement: "Unfortunately, my personal comments have become a distraction from the event, and our team, our sponsors, our start-ups, and the people who attend. I sincerely apologise again for any hurt I have caused."

In addition to boycotts by participants, sponsors threatened to stop backing the summit, according to Western media reports. Some funders of companies participating in the conference threatened to withdraw their investments if representatives attended the event.

Web Summit appointed Katherine Maher, the former chief of the crowd-sourced online reference site Wikipedia, as Cosgrave's replacement.

It is unclear if the event will now be able to avoid the threatened boycott.

But in a letter issued after her appointment, Maher sounded upbeat, saying: "In two weeks, our team will bring up to 70,000 people together in Lisbon to enhance meaningful connections and enable dialogue to continue – and to help you shape the future."

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