Google's former head of international relations resigns, revealing the reason for his resignation and the inside story of Google, saying 'Google has become evil'
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Ross Lajeunesse , former head of international relations at Google, announced that he left the company on January 2, 2020. Regarding the reason for his departure, Lajeunesse said that Google's long-standing slogan 'Don't be evil' no longer had any meaning.
I was Google's Head of International Relations. Here's Why I Left.
https://medium.com/@rossformaine/i-was-googles-head-of-international-relations-here-s-why-i-left-49313d23065
'When I joined Google in 2008, I was committed to making the world a better, more equal place, guided by a simple but powerful principle: 'Don't be evil.'' As of 2008, the slogan was still in effect, and Lajeunesse worked hard to prevent Google's products from being used for evil purposes.
For example, when Google entered the Chinese market in 2006, it admitted to censoring some topics at the request of the Chinese government. At the time, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin said, 'Google will only stay in China if the 'good' it brings outweighs the harm it causes.' However, the Chinese government's demands escalated over time, expanding the scope of censorship requests, and Google Maps demanded that all labels be under government control.
Then, in 2009, when the Chinese government tried to access the Gmail accounts of human rights activists, Google had to reconsider its 2006 decision. After a fierce debate among executives, in order to live up to its slogan 'Don't be evil,' Google refused to cooperate with the Chinese government's censorship in 2010 and effectively withdrew from the Chinese market. 'Our 2010 decision to stop cooperating with the Chinese government's censorship of search results was the first time a company outside of China stood up to the Chinese government,' said Lajeunesse, who was then head of public policy for the Asia-Pacific region.
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Lajeunesse pointed out that Google's decision to rebel against the Chinese government under the slogan 'Don't be evil' was also a decision that Google was throwing away a lot at the same time: not only was it losing its future in the rapidly growing Chinese market and billions of dollars in profits, but it was also putting the safety of its Chinese employees at risk.
After deciding not to cooperate with the Chinese government's censorship, at one point Lajeunesse was involved in 'planning a mass evacuation of all Google employees and their families based in China to safety. While planning a mass evacuation of many people naturally came with many challenges, Lajeunesse said he was very proud of Google's decision to follow its slogan, 'Don't be evil.'
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However, it was not just the Chinese government that was unhappy with Google's withdrawal from the Chinese market. There were also angry voices from some product development departments that had their eye on the huge Chinese market. In fact, within a year of the 2010 decision to withdraw from the Chinese market, Google Maps and Android executives began to explore selling products in the Chinese market.
Lajeunesse was vehemently opposed to Google's plans to turn to the Chinese market, saying that changing Google's approach from the Chinese market would mean complicity in human rights violations, and would invite backlash from Western countries and those who had praised the decision based on the former 'Don't be evil' slogan. In the end, the Chinese government was still unhappy with Google's decision, and Google Maps did not go ahead with its launch in China.
After serving as head of public policy for the Asia-Pacific region for about three years, Lajeunesse was appointed head of international relations in 2012. During that time, Google had grown from an 'already successful, large-scale company' to a 'tech giant that touches the lives of billions of people around the world.'
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In his new position, Lajeunesse continued to talk with product managers looking to enter the Chinese market. In 2017, he learned that Google was developing a censored search service for China, codenamed 'Dragonfly,' and became concerned that Google could be complicit in human rights violations. He also said that he had not been informed that Google had opened an AI lab in Beijing, China, and realized that Google was trying to eliminate his influence.
So Lajeunesse asked Google to commit to complying with human rights based on the UN Declaration of Human Rights and to adopt a company-wide human rights program that would conduct internal product reviews. However, Lajeunesse's superiors rejected his request, stating that 'human rights issues should be handled within the product team, not through an independent program.' When Lajeunesse complained that 'the product team is not trained to deal with human rights issues' and asked for reconsideration, his request was ultimately rejected, on the grounds that 'there is a risk of increasing the company's legal liability.'
'The Dragonfly policy team was subsequently reshuffled, with Lajeunesse's colleagues taking over as policy lead, and Lajeunesse was removed from discussions about Dragonfly. This series of events made me realize that Google was not interested in incorporating human rights principles into its business and product decisions. Even when they should be pursuing human rights, Google is pursuing profits and stock price,' Lajeunesse wrote.
by geralt
In addition to Google's disregard for human rights, Lajeunesse also criticized the company's workplace culture, saying that her colleagues bullied female employees to tears, that her superiors made discriminatory remarks about people of color and LGBT people, and that her concerns were not followed up on when she complained to human resources.
Eventually, Lajeunesse was informed by Google that the position was no longer available after a reorganization, but after hiring a lawyer and discussing the matter, Google admitted there had been a misunderstanding and offered him a smaller position. But Lajeunesse said the choice was clear: he decided to leave Google, where the slogan 'Don't be evil' no longer had any meaning.
Lajeunesse said that one of the reasons Google has changed is that the previous management team has left, and new CEOs and CFOs have been hired, and exceeding quarterly revenue expectations has become the top priority. He also said that with thousands of new employees joining the company every year, it has become difficult to maintain the company's old philosophy.
Still, Lajeunesse points out that in recent years, large tech giants cannot escape government scrutiny. As Google has discontinued development of Dragonfly due to an investigation by the U.S. Congress, the role of tech giants that influence the daily lives of people around the world can no longer be left solely to managers who are accountable to shareholders. In addition, Lajeunesse is running for election as a Democratic candidate for the Maine Senate, and some have pointed out that 'this testimony has a political motive.'
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