Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.) | Report on AI data usage oversight at Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)

Status
Filed
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
14
Resolution details
Company ticker
GOOGL
Lead filer
National Legal and Policy Center
Resolution ask
Report on or disclose
ESG theme
  • Social
ESG sub-theme
  • Digital rights
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Technology
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
Shareholders request the Company to prepare a report, at reasonable cost, omitting proprietary or legally privileged information, to be published within one year of the Annual Meeting and updated annually thereafter, which assesses the risks to the Company’s operations and finances, and to public welfare, presented by the real or potential unethical or improper usage of external data in the development, training, and deployment of its artificial intelligence offerings; what steps the Company takes to mitigate those risks; and how it measures the effectiveness of such efforts.
Whereas clause
The immense and transformative potential of artificial intelligence comes with substantial risks. The development and training of AI systems rely on vast amounts of data, and information available via the Internet may no longer satisfy developers’ growing demand for high-quality source inputs.1 2 3 Thus regulators, investors, and consumers are concerned that developers will draw from unethical or illegally-obtained sources – such as personal information collected online,4 5 copyrighted works,6 and proprietary commercial information provided by users.7 Supporting Statement: Alphabet Inc. (“Alphabet” or “Company”) is a major player in the AI arms race,8 which has helped push the Company to one of the highest market capitalizations in the world.9 Some outlets project that the “unrivaled” data access and dominance in the search market10 of subsidiary Google positions Alphabet to eventually overtake its AI competitors11 and establish dominance in the generative AI market. Alphabet has already introduced AI features into its major businesses, to great effect.12 Considering Alphabet’s suspect record on data ethics, shareholders, consumers, and businesses should be concerned that the Company’s AI expansion will drive further misconduct. Past abuses include: • On behalf of the European Union, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission has opened an inquiry into one of Alphabet’s AI models, which could be a “‘high risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals’ in the EU.”13 • Google settled a “class-action suit that sought damage payments of at least $5 billion”14 for “pervasively tracking their internet use through browsers set in ‘private’ mode.”15 The Company agreed to delete all the data collected.16 • Google abandoned plans to remove third-party cookies from its Chrome browser after advertisers expressed concerns about the effectiveness of Google’s personalized advertising – Alphabet’s largest revenue driver.17 18 • The Company has longstanding ties with U.S. intelligence agencies, which raises concerns about Alphabet’s role in surveillance on US citizens.19 20 These are just a few of Alphabet’s many privacy and ethics violations.21 22 23 24 Prioritizing data ethics in Alphabet’s AI development will help avoid harmful reputational, fiduciary, regulatory25 26 and litigative consequences.27 Developers who prioritize ethical data usage will reap the benefits of consumer trust,28 while those that do not will suffer. Alphabet’s position in the AI arms race, and its associated historic valuation, hang in the balance. (1) https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-training-data-synthetic-openai-anthropic-9230f8d8 (2) https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/09/elon-musk-data-ai-training-artificial-intelligence (3) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-12-13/ai-wants-more-data-more-chips-more-power-more-water-more-everything (4) https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/your-personal-information-is-probably-being-used-to-train-generative-ai-models/ (5) https://hai.stanford.edu/news/privacy-ai-era-how-do-we-protect-our-personal-information (6) https://www.skadden.com/insights/publications/2025/05/copyright-office-report (7) https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil/2025/11/13/the-ai-security-blindspot-how-unauthorized-ai-tools-are-creating corporate-vulnerabilities/ (8) https://www.fool.com/investing/2025/08/16/this-underrated-artificial-intelligence-ai-stock-h/ (9) https://companiesmarketcap.com/alphabet-google/marketcap/ (10) https://finance.yahoo.com/news/alphabet-discreet-ai-leader-140002698.html?guccounter=1 (11)https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/alphabets-secret-weapon-global-artificial-intelligence-ai-race (12) https://www.ft.com/content/05ddf6f8-87b0-4015-b7a4-20c3f8d3d96e (13) https://apnews.com/article/google-ireland-european-union-data-privacy-artificial-intelligence e0bb5f7d38653724ba65e5d6c30266f7 (14) https://www.forbes.com/sites/johanmoreno/2023/12/28/google-reaches-preliminary-settlement-in-high-stakes-privacy-suit/ (15) https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alphabet-google-privacy-lawsuit-idUSKBN23933H/ (16) https://time.com/6962521/google-incognito-lawsuit-data-settlement/ (17) https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/NASDAQ-GOOG/financials-revenue/ (18) https://www.reuters.com/technology/uks-competition-watchdog-work-with-google-tackle-concerns-over-chrome cookies-2024-09-24/ (19) https://qz.com/1145669/googles-true-origin-partly-lies-in-cia-and-nsa-research-grants-for-mass-surveillance (20) https://mronline.org/2022/07/27/national-security-search-engine/ (21) https://techcrunch.com/2023/01/17/privacy-sandbox-topics-api-criticism/ (22) https://newrepublic.com/article/161629/sad-implosion-googles-ethical-ai (23) https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/france-imposes-fines-facebook-ireland-google-2022-01-06/ (24) https://www.businessinsider.com/google-plus-class-action-settlement-how-to-claim-cash-payment-2020-8 (25) https://hbr.org/2023/05/who-is-going-to-regulate-ai (26) https://www.ftc.gov/policy/advocacy-research/tech-at-ftc/2024/01/ai-companies-uphold-your-privacy-confidentiality-commitments (27) https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/05/microsoft-openai-sued-over-copyright-infringement-by-authors.html (28) https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/10/18/key-findings-about-americans-and-data-privacy/

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