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Google Sued By Ex-Employees For Breaching The ‘Don’t be Evil’ Section of Contract

The battle continues.

google head quarters
Credit: denvit/ Pixabay

On Monday three former Google employees, who were fired back in 2019, sued the tech giants for apparently violating the part of its code of conduct that states ‘Don’t Be Evil.’

The new lawsuit filed against Google alleges a breach of conduct and forms part of a long-standing legal battle between the company and three former employees. On November 25 2019 they were all fired within minutes of each other. The company’s reasoning behind the decision was that the workers disclosed ‘confidential’ information to the press as well as carrying out ‘systematic searches’ which fell ‘outside the scope of their job.’

In response, the three software engineers have claimed that they were in fact let go for protesting against Google’s decision to sell cloud computing software to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) which was then keeping parents separate from their children as well as caging migrants. Their response was to circulate a petition requesting Google to confirm they would not collaborate with CBP or ICE.

Credit: Anthony Quintano/ Flickr

Google moved away from its famous company motto ‘Don’t be Evil’ in 2015 after renaming itself Alphabet. However, the phrase remains part of the company’s official employee code of conduct. The last line of the code states ‘ Remember… don’t be evil, and if you see something that you think isn’t right – speak up!’ Employees are asked to sign the code of conduct as a condition of working for the company.

The three former workers named as Rebecca Rivers, Paul Duke, and Sophie Waldman are suing Google for violating its own code of conduct and California public policy. In 2019 California sued Donald Trump over the indefinite detention of migrant children.

Their complaint alleges that each individual saw Google’s involvement with CBP while Trump was president to be ‘evil’ and that they followed the company’s policy to speak out about unethical behavior by standing against it. This is not the first time they’ve been sued this year.

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Credit: @quitehacker/ Instagram

It claims that Google did not inform the individuals concerned that they had violated the company’s ‘data security policy’ and that none of them had engaged in ‘systematic searches.’ They claim to have only accessed documents that full-time employees could find on their own.

The lawsuit states: ‘ Rivers, Waldman and Duke each engaged in activities consistent with Google’s ‘Don’t be evil’ contractual obligation. Specifically, they questioned Google management regarding its intent to enter into a contract with the Trump administration’s Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and/or Office of Refugee Resettlement agencies.’

In 2018, Google moved ‘Don’t be Evil’ to the very end of its code of conduct at the same time as removing a large section about its ethics which read:

Credit: rawpixel.com

‘Don’t be evil.’ Googlers generally apply those words to how we serve our users. But “Don’t be evil” is much more than that. Yes, it’s about providing our users unbiased access to information, focusing on their needs and giving them the best products and services we can. But it’s also about doing the right thing more generally – following the law, acting honorably and treating each other with respect.’

Furthermore, in 2020 employees of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, launched a union with the Communications Workers of America (CWA). They sited their reasons as being the company’s response to  several issues including their response to sexual harassment and the firing of Timnit Gebru, a prominent Black artificial intelligence researcher.

This will undoubtedly be a blow for the company but a reminder all the same to re-read their own small print!

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