* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Country music star apologizes after drunken show ends with cops taking him down: ‘I’m not OK’ – PennLive.com

    Country Music Star Apologizes After Drunken Show Ends in Police Intervention: ‘I’m Not OK

    Comanche Nation Entertainment closes casino near Devol – KSWO 7News

    Comanche Nation Entertainment Closes Casino Near Devol in Surprising Move

    Erykah Badu Announces ‘Abi & Alan’ Album With The Alchemist Will Be Delayed – yahoo.com

    Erykah Badu Opens Up About the Delay of Her Highly Anticipated ‘Abi & Alan’ Album with The Alchemist

    If You Needed Some BTS Pics Of The Rock’s Tree Trunk Legs To Spice Up Your Day, We Got ‘Em – yahoo.com

    Need a Boost? Check Out These Epic BTS Shots of The Rock’s Tree Trunk Legs!

    Sabrina Carpenter’s pearl-clutching magic? Humor – CNN

    Sabrina Carpenter’s pearl-clutching magic? Humor – CNN

    South Park Is In Trouble And Needs To Change Course, Fast – yahoo.com

    South Park Faces Major Challenges and Must Adapt Fast to Survive

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    China’s CATL sells stake in Finnish subcontract car manufacturer – Reuters

    China’s CATL Sells Stake in Finnish Auto Supplier in Strategic Move

    This Secret Technology Will Make The IPhone 17 Super Thin Air – VOI.ID

    How This Breakthrough Technology Will Make the iPhone 17 Incredibly Thin and Lightweight

    Gator football kicks off with excitement and new technology – WCJB | TV20

    Gator Football Kicks Off with Thrilling Action and Innovative Technology

    Marvell Technology (MRVL) Loses 18.6% as Growth Outlook Fails to Impress – Yahoo Finance

    Marvell Technology (MRVL) Loses 18.6% as Growth Outlook Fails to Impress – Yahoo Finance

    Propelling solar technology into a perovskite future – CORDIS

    Propelling solar technology into a perovskite future – CORDIS

    13 Top Technology Trends (2025) – Exploding Topics

    13 Game-Changing Technology Trends to Watch in 2025

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Country music star apologizes after drunken show ends with cops taking him down: ‘I’m not OK’ – PennLive.com

    Country Music Star Apologizes After Drunken Show Ends in Police Intervention: ‘I’m Not OK

    Comanche Nation Entertainment closes casino near Devol – KSWO 7News

    Comanche Nation Entertainment Closes Casino Near Devol in Surprising Move

    Erykah Badu Announces ‘Abi & Alan’ Album With The Alchemist Will Be Delayed – yahoo.com

    Erykah Badu Opens Up About the Delay of Her Highly Anticipated ‘Abi & Alan’ Album with The Alchemist

    If You Needed Some BTS Pics Of The Rock’s Tree Trunk Legs To Spice Up Your Day, We Got ‘Em – yahoo.com

    Need a Boost? Check Out These Epic BTS Shots of The Rock’s Tree Trunk Legs!

    Sabrina Carpenter’s pearl-clutching magic? Humor – CNN

    Sabrina Carpenter’s pearl-clutching magic? Humor – CNN

    South Park Is In Trouble And Needs To Change Course, Fast – yahoo.com

    South Park Faces Major Challenges and Must Adapt Fast to Survive

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    China’s CATL sells stake in Finnish subcontract car manufacturer – Reuters

    China’s CATL Sells Stake in Finnish Auto Supplier in Strategic Move

    This Secret Technology Will Make The IPhone 17 Super Thin Air – VOI.ID

    How This Breakthrough Technology Will Make the iPhone 17 Incredibly Thin and Lightweight

    Gator football kicks off with excitement and new technology – WCJB | TV20

    Gator Football Kicks Off with Thrilling Action and Innovative Technology

    Marvell Technology (MRVL) Loses 18.6% as Growth Outlook Fails to Impress – Yahoo Finance

    Marvell Technology (MRVL) Loses 18.6% as Growth Outlook Fails to Impress – Yahoo Finance

    Propelling solar technology into a perovskite future – CORDIS

    Propelling solar technology into a perovskite future – CORDIS

    13 Top Technology Trends (2025) – Exploding Topics

    13 Game-Changing Technology Trends to Watch in 2025

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Technology

Storebrand divests from IBM over supply of biometrics to Israel

May 31, 2024
in Technology
Storebrand divests from IBM over supply of biometrics to Israel
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Norwegian asset manager Storebrand’s decision to divest from IBM comes amid growing scrutiny of the role technology companies play in Israel’s human rights abuses


Andrew Kersley

By

Andrew Kersley

Published: 29 May 2024 17:14

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.

Storebrand – Norway’s second largest asset manager after the oil fund – claimed it tried to “enter a dialogue” with IBM about its role in the region but the tech company was “not willing to discuss” the issue.

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.

“IBM supplies a biometric database to Israeli authorities that records ethnic and religious identity. Storebrand Asset Management considers that the database contributes to discrimination and segregation of Palestinians. 

“As an investor, Storebrand Asset Management has tried to enter a dialogue with IBM Corp about the matter, but the company has not been willing to discuss this,” continued Blystad. “It has therefore not been possible to influence the company, which has therefore been excluded from Storebrand’s investment universe.”

IBM supplies a biometric database to Israeli authorities that records ethnic and religious identity. Storebrand Asset Management considers that the database contributes to discrimination and segregation of Palestinians

Stig-Øyvind Blystad, Storebrand

This week, three countries – Ireland, Spain and the financial service firm’s home of Norway – decided to recognise Palestine as an independent state. The move came amid growing concerns about the scale of civilian deaths during Israel’s war on Gaza.

Earlier this month, the International Criminal Court announced that it was applying for arrest warrants against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister, as well as several senior Hamas officials, on charges of war crimes.

Since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, in which just over 1,200 Israeli citizens, mostly civilians, were killed and another 250 were taken hostage, more than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in the ensuing Israeli attack on Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel is currently in the midst of an assault on the southern city of Rafah, an attack that has been the subject of widespread international condemnation.

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.

Meanwhile, an investigation by +972 Magazine in April revealed the Israeli military’s use of an AI-based program known as “Lavender” to identify suspected militants for military strikes, despite the system having little oversight and an alleged error rate of 10%.

It goes alongside another AI system – nicknamed “The Gospel” – which can generate buildings for the military to target at a huge speed and which was facilitating a “mass assassination factory”, according to one former Israeli intelligence officer.

Concerns have been raised over tech companies’ role in potential human rights abuses in the West Bank for several years, with the UN releasing a list of 112 businesses in 2020 that it claimed have “directly and indirectly, enabled, facilitated and profited from the construction and growth of the settlements” in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

On the list were several tech giants, including the likes of Expedia, Air BnB and TripAdvisor, which rented hotels or rooms or managed reviews for illegal settlements, as well as telecoms firm Motorola.

Many tech firms refuse to engage with questions on their human rights record or policies, however.

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.

Increasingly, we’re seeing the central role that technology is playing in conflict, and this role is only going to get more embedded as we go forward

Gayatri Khandhadai, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

“Increasingly, we’re seeing the central role that technology is playing in conflict, and this role is only going to get more embedded as we go forward.”

“With the increasing focus of the ICC, if I were a company or an investor, I would start worrying about what this means for me.”

She added: “We are pleased to see Storebrand setting a positive example for how investors should act in conflict situations, where heightened human rights due diligence and swift action (or lack thereof) from private sector actors can have life or death consequences.

“The situation in Gaza is catastrophic and businesses have an immediate responsibility to ensure they are not contributing to or exacerbating the scale of human suffering in the region.

“Doing business within this context has been considered high risk for decades, so the private sector has no excuse for being unprepared.”

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.

Read more on Artificial intelligence, automation and robotics


Tech companies operating with opacity in Israel-Palestine

SebastianKlovig Skelton

By: Sebastian Klovig Skelton


Edge AI startup reveals GenAI accelerator, $120M fundraise

EstherAjao

By: Esther Ajao


Government insists it is acting ‘responsibly’ on military AI

SebastianKlovig Skelton

By: Sebastian Klovig Skelton


How Iranian cyber ops pivoted to target Israel after 7 October attacks

AlexScroxton

By: Alex Scroxton

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Computer Weekly – https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366586713/Storebrand-divests-from-IBM-over-supply-of-biometrics-to-Israel

Tags: divestsStorebrandtechnology
Previous Post

Google is putting more restrictions on AI Overviews after it told people to put glue on pizza

Next Post

The need for speed: How AI is driving faster cars for VCARB Formula One team

Construction of forest ecological security patterns based on MSPA model and circuit theory in the Desertification Control forests in South China Karst – Nature

Construction of forest ecological security patterns based on MSPA model and circuit theory in the Desertification Control forests in South China Karst – Nature

September 2, 2025
Bringing life science to life: Park Crossing teacher recognized – WSFA

Bringing life science to life: Park Crossing teacher recognized – WSFA

September 2, 2025
Take flight: EH seventh-graders learn science through paper airplanes – The Daily Reporter – Greenfield Indiana

Soar to New Heights: Seventh-Graders Explore Science with Paper Airplanes

September 2, 2025
Marcos orders lifestyle audit of all government officials — Dateline Philippines – Asian Journal News

Marcos Initiates Comprehensive Lifestyle Audit of Government Officials to Boost Accountability

September 2, 2025
China’s CATL sells stake in Finnish subcontract car manufacturer – Reuters

China’s CATL Sells Stake in Finnish Auto Supplier in Strategic Move

September 2, 2025
Mariners call up top catcher prospect Harry Ford, which could help Cal Raleigh late in season – Yahoo Sports

Mariners Elevate Top Catcher Prospect Harry Ford, Strengthening Cal Raleigh’s Late-Season Push

September 2, 2025
ECB’s Lagarde warns of risk to world economy via Trump interference on Fed – Reuters

ECB’s Lagarde warns of risk to world economy via Trump interference on Fed – Reuters

September 1, 2025
The Resilient Engine: Investing in Poland’s Outperforming Economy Amid Global Slowdown – AInvest

The Resilient Engine: Why Investing in Poland’s Booming Economy Is a Smart Move Amid Global Slowdown

September 1, 2025
Country music star apologizes after drunken show ends with cops taking him down: ‘I’m not OK’ – PennLive.com

Country Music Star Apologizes After Drunken Show Ends in Police Intervention: ‘I’m Not OK

September 1, 2025
Arts to promote mental health goal of new University of Michigan clinical program – MLive.com

Innovative University of Michigan Program Harnesses the Arts to Enhance Mental Health

September 1, 2025

Categories

Archives

September 2025
MTWTFSS
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930 
« Aug    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (802)
  • Economy (820)
  • Entertainment (21,700)
  • General (16,804)
  • Health (9,861)
  • Lifestyle (835)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (822)
  • Politics (828)
  • Science (16,031)
  • Sports (21,319)
  • Technology (15,801)
  • World (801)

Recent News

Construction of forest ecological security patterns based on MSPA model and circuit theory in the Desertification Control forests in South China Karst – Nature

Construction of forest ecological security patterns based on MSPA model and circuit theory in the Desertification Control forests in South China Karst – Nature

September 2, 2025
Bringing life science to life: Park Crossing teacher recognized – WSFA

Bringing life science to life: Park Crossing teacher recognized – WSFA

September 2, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version