‘Don’t be evil’: Google abandoned motto and lost its way, says former exec
Google’s former head of international relations has hit out at the company’s human rights record and corporate culture in a blog post detailing why he left the tech giant.
Ross LaJeunesse, who left Google in May last year after 11 years at the firm, claimed that “standing up for for women, for the LGBTQ community, for colleagues of colour, and for human rights — had cost me my career.”
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LaJeunesse, who is now running as a Democratic candidate for a seat in the US Senate, said that the firm, whose old motto was “don’t be evil”, had lost its way.
Citing examples such as the development on a censored search engine, codenamed Dragonfly, for the Chinese government, and work with Saudi Arabia, LaJeunesse wrote:
“Just when Google needed to double down on a commitment to human rights, it decided to instead chase bigger profits and an even higher stock price.”
Google, which quit China in 2010 in protest over the country’s censorship rules, began to explore ways to return to the major tech market, culminating in the Dragonfly project, which was cancelled in July last year.
LaJeunesse said that to counter such developments he had come up with a human rights programme, but that company executives blocked his plans.
He added that his experience at Google had made it clear to him that tech companies urgently required government oversight.
The tech giant’s workplace culture also comes in for considerable criticism, with claims that “senior colleagues bullied and screamed at young women, causing them to cry at their desks.”
During a diversity exercise, LaJeunesse says that he was placed in a group “labelled ‘homos’ while participants shouted out stereotypes such as ‘effeminate’ and ‘promiscuous’.”
He added: “Colleagues of colour were forced to join groups called ‘Asians’ and ‘Brown people’ in other rooms nearby.”
Regarding his departure from the firm, LaJeunesse said he was accidentally copied into an email in which a human resources director told a colleague to “do some digging” into him.
He was then told there was no longer a job for him due to a reorganisation, before being offered a “small role in exchange for my acquiescence and silence.”
Responding to the claims, a Google spokesperson said: “We have an unwavering commitment to supporting human rights organisations and efforts.
“That commitment is unrelated to and unaffected by the reorganization of our policy team, which was widely reported and which impacted many members of the team.
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“As part of this reorganisation, Ross was offered a new position at the exact same level and compensation, which he declined to accept. We wish Ross all the best with his political ambitions.”
Large tech firms such as Google and Facebook have come under increasing fire in the US for their practices.