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> The letter is circulating on Google’s internal communication systems and is signed by about 1,000 employees, according to two people familiar with the documen
by 394549 8y ago
> The letter is circulating on Google’s internal communication systems and is signed by about 1,000 employees, according to two people familiar with the document, who were not authorized to speak publicly.
> ...
> The internal debate over Maven, viewed by both supporters and opponents as opening the door to much bigger defense contracts, generated a petition signed by about 4,000 employees who demanded “a clear policy stating that neither Google nor its contractors will ever build warfare technology.”
Are signatures still being collected on the China letter? That count is quite a bit less than letter protesting Project Maven.
In my mind, trying to enter the Chinese market is far more concerning than Project Maven. The Chinese government has shown ample willingness to use its economic leverage to force foreign companies to adopt its stances (for instance http://time.com/5348666/airlines-websites-taiwan-china/ http://time.com/5348666/airlines-websites-taiwan-china/), and subjecting Google, our main portal to the internet to that pressure is just too risky.
- pc86 8y agoLet's not forget that there are over 85,000 Google employees. And it's news that 1,000 of them signed a letter? If you get 85,000 people together you can get 850 of them to agree to just about anything.
- clay_the_ripper 8y agoLarge movements start small. In order to become a larger movement, first it needs a small movement.
- pc86 8y agoI'm not disputing that, and that's a pretty odd assumption to make. I'm simply saying that if 10% of Google employees had signed this, it might be news. Barely 1% doesn't seem particularly newsworthy.
- xiii1408 8y agoIt's gotten even worse than airlines: they pressured 85C, the Taiwanese Bakery, into espousing a one China policy: https://www.hongkongfp.com/2018/08/16/taiwans-85c-bakery-cafe-bows-china-boycott-threat/ https://www.hongkongfp.com/2018/08/16/taiwans-85c-bakery-caf.... It's remarkable to me that the "feelings of 1.3 billion people" are so fragile that they're unable to enjoy their coffee cake if the company that made it doesn't kowtow to Beijing.
- gaius 8y agoAlso see https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/15/gap-sorry-t-shirt-map-china https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/15/gap-sorry-t-sh...