300 Google employees have signed an open letter calling on the company to abandon its Chinese search engine.
An open letter to Google signed by almost 300 of its employees has called for the search company to abandon its efforts to create a censored Chinese search engine dubbed Dragonfly.
« Providing the Chinese government with ready access to user data, as required by Chinese law, would make Google complicit in oppression and human rights abuses, » the letter created by Google Employees Against Dragonfly states.
« Our opposition to Dragonfly is not about China: We object to technologies that aid the powerful in oppressing the vulnerable, wherever they may be. »
The group said that many of them joined the search giant because it was « willing to place its values above its profits », including its 2010 decision not to censor search results in China; however, it believes this is no longer the case.
Cited for the change in values was the Pentagon drone AI project called Maven, the project was not renewed following objections by thousands of staff, and the revelation that Google gave Android founder Andy Rubin a $90 million exit payout after concluding a sexual misconduct complaint.
« We also demand that leadership commit to transparency, clear communication, and real accountability.
