Scrutiny mounts on Microsoft’s surveillance technology

Microsoft is facing new pressure from investors over its development and sale of surveillance technologies to law enforcement and its efforts to shape the policies regulating their deployment.

Three separate shareholder proposals filed this week reviewed by The Hill are demanding Microsoft evaluate whether its business model aligns with the tech giant’s stated commitments to racial justice and human rights.

Taken together, the three proposals mark a significant escalation of investor scrutiny on Microsoft’s business practices.

Activist investors have increasingly been using shareholder proposals to put pressure on companies.

While these types of proposals have relatively low success rates — and are often nonbinding — their proponents say they offer an effective avenue to show companies the business risks of controversial contracts.