this post was submitted on 19 Apr 2024
243 points (100.0% liked)

Technology

38435 readers
10 users here now

A nice place to discuss rumors, happenings, innovations, and challenges in the technology sphere. We also welcome discussions on the intersections of technology and society. If it’s technological news or discussion of technology, it probably belongs here.

Remember the overriding ethos on Beehaw: Be(e) Nice. Each user you encounter here is a person, and should be treated with kindness (even if they’re wrong, or use a Linux distro you don’t like). Personal attacks will not be tolerated.

Subcommunities on Beehaw:


This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
 

"Google issued a stern warning to its employees, with the company’s vice president of global security, Chris Rackow, saying, “If you’re one of the few who are tempted to think we’re going to overlook conduct that violates our policies, think again,” according to an internal memo obtained by CNBC."

all 44 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 60 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Well on the bright side, getting fired from one of the largest mega corps in the world for complaining about the company’s providing resources to kill civilians is a hell of a thing to be able to put on your resume.

On the not so bright side, I don’t like being a background character in a cyberpunk story.

[–] [email protected] 58 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Isn't it illegal to fire protesting workers? At least here in Germany its illegal as far as I know. But it must be a protest event (which it seems to be).

[–] [email protected] 80 points 11 months ago (3 children)

My understanding is that in America, you're only allowed to protest in ways that don't interfere with capital interests.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 11 months ago (1 children)

That reads like something out of South Park. :D

[–] [email protected] 24 points 11 months ago (2 children)

South Park would probably be on the side of Google and other corporations, Matt and Trey are diehard libertarian capitalists.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I never really forgave them for the original ManBearPig climat change denialism.

[–] ReallyActuallyFrankenstein 14 points 11 months ago

I'd recommend to watch later episodes. They've pretty much abandoned the 90s libertarian edge-lord moments and explicitly disclaimed and apologized for it. They've had quite a few "wow, we were the problem" fourth-wall-breaking moments in recent years.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago

Every time I read what's going on in the USA and how so many countries want to emulate it, the cynic in me thinks that we kind of deserve what we're getting.

Anti Commercial-AI license

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago
[–] [email protected] 22 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Please note that Germany has (compared to other EU members) quite strict and company-friendly protesting laws.

Such protests may be even considered as political protest (Politischer Streik) which makes them not illegal per se but could be illegal. https://www.bpb.de/themen/medien-journalismus/netzdebatte/219308/ein-bisschen-verboten-politischer-streik/

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago

Yes, I don‘t think such protests would fall under the general protesting laws as they have nothing to do with your working conditions.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 11 months ago

The don't be evil to you must help us commit genocide pipeline

[–] [email protected] 32 points 11 months ago (1 children)

What did they think would happen? Google removed "don't be evil" a long time ago.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 11 months ago

It got on the news. They sacrificed their jobs for that at least.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Love all the people that see repercussions for protesting and their first thought is 'boy, those guys sure we're stupid. Now they've lost their jobs'

Maybe the people doing the protests accepted that as a risk they were willing to take? Perhaps even the next steps were mass resignations? Hmmmmmm

[–] [email protected] 17 points 11 months ago

Yes, maybe all those commenters could be simply called self-censored vendor locked in. This is also not the first time Google has been firing critical voices, it is quite frankly tempting to say "it happens all the time".

[–] [email protected] 29 points 11 months ago (2 children)

So, protesting for human rights is "violating Google policies"?????

[–] [email protected] 13 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

~~Don't~~ be evil.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Why did you put the question marks there?

[–] [email protected] 29 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Google would like to apologize for that inadvertent mistake. All efforts are being made to identify how this came to be and to avoid doing the same in the future.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 11 months ago

Google is complicit in mass murder.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Google would murder every single one of these people for that contract get real. I can’t see how anyone expected to keep their jobs after this.

I’m just shocked it went on for like 8h lmao

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

🤖 I'm a bot that provides automatic summaries for articles:

Click here to see the summaryGoogle has fired more than two dozen employees for protesting its $1.2 billion contract to provide the Israeli government and military with cloud and artificial intelligence services.

Physically impeding other employees’ work and preventing them from accessing our facilities is a clear violation of our policies, and completely unacceptable behavior.

“This excuse to avoid confronting us and our concerns directly, and attempt to justify its illegal, retaliatory firings, is a lie,” it said in a statement late Wednesday, accusing the company of valuing its contract with the Israeli government more than its employees.

Google issued a stern warning to its employees, with the company’s vice president of global security, Chris Rackow, saying, “If you’re one of the few who are tempted to think we’re going to overlook conduct that violates our policies, think again,” according to an internal memo obtained by CNBC.

The Israeli prime minister's office and the Israel Defense Forces did not immediately respond to requests for comment from NBC News.

The workers were also protesting labor conditions at the company — saying the contract was affecting “health and safety on the job” — and what they said was Google’s disregard “for the well-being of our Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim colleagues facing Google-enabled racism, discrimination, harassment, and censorship.”


Saved 69% of original text.