Googlers write open letter to company, demand ‘transparency, protection, cut ties with ICE’

The letter titled 'Googlers Demand: Worker Safety & ICE Contract Transparency' was signed by almost 1000 staffers. Scroll down to read details.

A group of employees at Google has publicly shown concerns over the partnership of the company with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agencies. The Googlers have signed an open letter in which they have demanded more transparency, worker safety assurances, and clarity about the company’s usage of technology. The letter has been signed by around 1000 employees of Google. This reflects the unease among them over the usage of cloud and artificial intelligence tools being used by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

What are Google employees demanding?

In the open letter titled “Googlers Demand: Worker Safety & ICE Contract Transparency”, the employees of Google have expressed their concern over the aggressive actions of enforcement being taken by the ICE and CBP. These actions include raids and detentions of multiple people. The statement claims that many people like Keith Porter, Renee Good, and Alex Pretti have passed away in the immigration detention facilities recently.

The Googlers stated that these scary advancements led them to write their letter and question the partnership of company with the agencies which are under the US Department of Homeland Security.

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Concerns of Googlers

The petitioners claimed that the company’s cloud services are being actively used to support the surveillance systems, which have been associated with border enforcement. On the other hand, the artificial intelligence tools of the company are being established for the potential improvement of the operational efficiency within the government agencies.

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Open letter to company by Googlers

The letter had a tweet from Google Chief Scientist Jeff Dean, which stated, “We all bear a collective responsibility to speak up and not be silent when we see things like the events of the last week.” The Googlers wrote, “We agree. In that spirit, we are speaking up today as Googlers.” The letter was signed by almost 1000 staffers.