Microsoft Shareholders Push for Stricter Oversight of European Security Program

05 Dec 2025Microsoft Shareholders Push for Stricter Oversight of European Security Program

Washington, D.C. - Microsoft shareholders are encouraged to vote today for the "European Security Program Censorship Risk Audit," a shareholder proposal put forward by the National Center for Public Policy Research's Free Enterprise Project (FEP).

In June, Microsoft launched its European Security Program (ESP) that, among other things, aims to expand cybercrime reporting within partnered countries by putting "AI at the center." ESP, which Microsoft is providing to European governments free of charge, includes collaboration with Europol's European Cybercrime Centre and the CyberPeace Institute, which reference combatting "online hate speech" and "harmful content" online as parts of their respective missions.

At today's Microsoft annual shareholder meeting, FEP Executive Director Stefan Padfield will explain to shareholders how ESP could be used to facilitate censorship of legitimate speech:

The European Security Program partners Microsoft with European governments and NGOs that explicitly target "hate speech" and "harmful content." While those phrases sound benign, they have been used under laws like Germany's Network Enforcement Act and the U.K.'s Online Safety Act to suppress legitimate political and religious expression. When Microsoft puts its AI "at the center" of that effort, shareholders have a right to understand the potential reputational and legal exposure if those tools are used to silence lawful speech.

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has warned the the European Union's new Digital Services Act (DSA) "could cripple free speech even in America" by pressuring platforms to silence content that is disfavored by European regulators. ADF's analysis echoes reporting from outlets such as The Daily Wire, which highlighted how members of Congress are increasingly alarmed at the EU's efforts to export its censorship regime across the Atlantic. Lawmakers have raised the possibility that U.S. companies could be effectively deputized by Brussels to regulate American political and religious expression.

"The stakes are high," Padfield said when submitting the proposal. "If Microsoft's partnerships empower the EU to dictate what Americans can say online, then the company risks not only its reputation but also its bottom line. Shareholders must be assured that Microsoft is not becoming a conduit for unconstitutional foreign censorship."

In a commentary published by RealClearMarkets, Padfield noted that Microsoft's lack of transparency regarding this issue is particularly troubling.

FEP urges Microsoft shareholders to not only vote for this proposal (Proposal 5), but also to vote FOR Proposals 6 and 7. FEP also recommends that shareholders vote AGAINST Proposals 9 and 10. An explanation of these recommendations can be found in ProxyNavigator, FEP's mobile and web app.

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The National Center for Public Policy Research, founded in 1982, is a non-partisan, free-market, independent conservative think-tank. Ninety-four percent of its support comes from individuals, less than four percent from foundations and less than two percent from corporations. It receives over 350,000 individual contributions a year from over 60,000 active recent contributors.

FEP, the original and premier opponent of the woke takeover of American corporate life, aims to push corporations to respect their fiduciary obligations and to stay out of political and social engineering. More information about today's proposals can be found in FEP's mobile and web app, ProxyNavigator.

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