Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.) | Report on Policies Regarding Military and Militarized Policing Agencies at Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)

Status
9.22% votes in favour
AGM date
Resolution details
Company ticker
GOOGL
Lead filer
-
Resolution ask
Report on or disclose
ESG theme
  • Social
ESG sub-theme
  • Conflict and/or violence
  • Digital rights
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Technology
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
Shareholders request that the board issue a report, at reasonable expense and excluding proprietary information, reassessing the Company’s policies on support for military and militarized policing agency activities and their impacts on stakeholders, user communities, and the Company’s reputation and finances.
Whereas clause
In 2018, Google faced widely publicized, significant opposition from its employees and the public over its Project Maven sub-contract with the U.S. Department of Defense over concerns regarding artificial intelligence being used for military drone technology.1 Google publicly decided not to seek renewal of the contract with the Pentagon after it expired.

In 2019, a public employee petition2 demanded that Google refrain from bidding on a contract with the militarized policing agency U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), after the public learned of the severity of CBP’s human rights violations and inhumane treatment of immigrants that resulted in deaths of dozens in their custody. A National Labor Relations Board complaint and lawsuit alleges that employees were unjustly fired for protesting the contract.3

In October 2021, nearly 700 Google employees signed a public letter4 calling on Google to end the “Project Nimbus” contract with the Israeli military and government. The employees opposed working on technology used to harm Palestinians5 living under illegal military occupation and to maintain Israel’s well-documented, oppressive institutions, which have been accused of apartheid6 and war crimes.7 Google workers spoke out publicly in a variety of press outlets, including The Guardian and MSNBC.

In October 2021, Google’s pursuit of the Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability contract with the U.S. Department of Defense garnered press attention,8 particularly given Google’s previous reversal on Project Maven due to employee protest.9
Supporting statement
The Proponents recommend that, subject to board and management discretion, the report should assess:



• risks posed to directly-impacted populations through application or misapplication of technology services;
• risks posed to labor relations and relationships with other stakeholders, including users and the academic research community;
• risks posed to diverse communities, and the relationship of these communities to the Company that would imperil the Company’s diverse hiring mandates;
• risks to the Company’s reputation, including its reputation for social responsibility; and
• risks to the Company’s assets and operations.


The report should assess potential changes to current policies, such as a policy to avoid entering into or renewing contracts with military and militarized policing agencies.

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