Nearly 1,000 Google employees recently signed a petition demanding the company cut alleged ties to US Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection CBP.
Seeking more signatures from workers on the letter, titled ‘Googlers Demand: Worker Safety and ICE Contract Transparency’, the employees said they would send the letter to company leaders and try to get a broader response on the issue. (Getty Images via AFP)D application Google’s technology has been accused of being used in recent violence in the country, including the murders of Keith Porter, Renee Goode and Alex Pretti. “Google is fueling this campaign of surveillance, violence and repression. The cloud is helping integrate CBP surveillance systems at the border and nationwide, as well as powering Palantir’s ImmigrationOS system that ICE uses to track immigrants,” the petition reads.
Employees also claimed that Google’s generative AI was used by DHS and CBP to “improve workforce efficiency” and “management efficiency.”
“The Play Store has blocked the most effective ICE tracking apps to keep our communities safe. YouTube is also running ICE recruitment and self-deportation ads,” the letter reads.
Google has yet to issue a statement on the letter.
“For the workers who provide the foundational labor to create this technology, we are appalled,” it added.
claimSeeking more signatures from workers on the letter, titled ‘Googlers Demand: Worker Safety and ICE Contract Transparency’, the employees said they would send the letter to company leaders and try to get a broader response on the issue.
“We strongly oppose Google’s partnership with DHS, CBP, and ICE. We consider it the moral and policy-based responsibility of our leadership to disclose all agreements and collaborations with CBP and ICE and disassociate from these partnerships,” the letter reads.
Recognize the dangers and violence that workers face every day – Employees demanded a proportionate community response, such as school closings and mutual aid networks, and leadership acknowledged the dangers facing all US-based workers and publicly called for an urgent government response to the crisis.Host an emergency Q&A session for our DHS, CBP, and military contracting personnel – Employees demand a US-based, live and recorded Q&A session or an employee town hall with relevant leadership, to field top questions from employees, with no AI summarization or question-dropping.Protect all Googlers – from cafeteria workers to data center workers – Employees demand leadership to implement appropriate worker protections to meet this moment, such as flexible work from home policies and legal and immigration support for all workers.Express ties and declare red lines on the use of our products for state violence and repression – Employees demand specific clarity about acceptable applications of our cloud and AI technologies, and transparency and full disclosure about how DHS agencies like CBP and ICE are misusing our products.
