Microsoft suspends PAC contributions after some employees question donations to conservatives

Microsoft has told employees who contribute to the Microsoft Political Action Committee (MSPAC), an opt-in fund that’s supported by employee donations and is used to make political contributions, that the company will be implementing a “brief hiatus” on the donations made through this PAC. The decision comes after some employees reportedly complained that around half of MSPAC’s donations go to conservatives candidates who have views that supposedly oppose Microsoft’s “progressive values.”

In an internal statement that was sent to employees who contribute to MSPAC, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of US Government Affairs Fred Humphries Jr. said that the suspension of political contributions began July 1 and will be in effect until fall (late September).

However, there will be one additional disclosure showing contributions through the end of June which will reflect contributions to “a bipartisan group of lawmakers” who worked with Microsoft on “immigration and equality, and policies to promote privacy, climate, trade and the cloud.”

In addition to suspending political contributions, Humphries Jr. said that Microsoft will be setting up new advisory councils to “increase dialogue and transparency” which it plans to announce later this summer.

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