"Storebrand divests from IBM over supply of biometrics to Israel", 29 May 2024

One of Norway’s largest financial services companies has divested from IBM over the role its biometric database technologies play in maintaining illegal Israeli settlements, in a move that could set a precedent for other European investors. Storebrand said the global tech giant was providing biometric databases to the Israeli government that were being “used to implement apartheid” in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in its Q1 2024 sustainability report....

As a result, Storebrand, which manages over £74.5bn in assets and investments, sold the 750,000 shares it held in the company in March 2024, which had a reported value of approximately £110m...

Stig-Øyvind Blystad, senior vice-president of communications for Storebrand, confirmed the decision in an email to Computer Weekly. “We believe the company contributes to maintaining illegal settlements on the West Bank – and thus contributes to violations of human rights,” wrote Blystad.

Storebrand’s decision has added increased scrutiny on the role European and American companies, and in particular tech giants, have played in directly or indirectly facilitating human rights abuses in the region...

Storebrand’s decision has added increased scrutiny on the role European and American companies, and in particular tech giants, have played in directly or indirectly facilitating human rights abuses in the region.

In December, Facebook and Instagram owner Meta was criticised by global NGO Human Rights Watch for systemically “silencing voices in support of Palestine and Palestinian human rights” on its platforms since the beginning of Israel’s invasion.

Last month, US-based Google employees staged protests in relation to a $1.2bn contract the tech giant has with the Israeli government and military in conjunction with Amazon to provide cloud computing infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI) and other technology services...

A recent survey by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) of 104 tech companies operating in the region asking them how they safeguard human rights ended up with just four respondents, an “unprecedented” low. The group registered a 29% response rate for a similar survey it did in regard to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“Tech companies, with a few exceptions, are opaque and largely unwilling to provide information and disclosures, especially around this conflict, in a way that is incomparable to most other sectors,” said Gayatri Khandhadai, head of technology and human rights at the BHRRC...

Meredith Veit, a fellow technology and human rights researcher at the BHRRC, added that Storebrand so openly citing human rights in its divestment decision was “a huge statement”, the “ripple effect” of which could push other investors to “follow suit”.

IBM did not respond to a request for comment.