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Each of these details was internally escalated by other employees to no avail, and many
of them were discussed extensively on internal mailing lists; I understand that such
discussion has since been increasingly stifled. I cannot speak for those who escalated
these concerns, but I share their fear of the possible consequences.
1 Thisprivacy review process developed inside Google following years of privacy failures, including the
collection of payload Wi-Fi data and registering users for the Google Buzz product without their consent.
With this in mind, I would like to point The Committee’s attention to the 2011 settlement Google made with
the FTC to: (1) submit to an independent review of its privacy practices every two years, (2) receive consent
from users anytime its services change in a manner that results in sharing more information, and (3) establish
and maintain a “comprehensive privacy program” for the next 20 years. Cf. https://arstechnica.com/tech-
policy/2011/03/google-agrees-to-new-privacy-rules-as-part-of-buzz-settlement/
I am part of a growing movement in the tech industry advocating for more transparency,
oversight, and accountability for the systems we build. The primary goals are laid
out in the Google Ethics Code Yellow Petition, which not only continues to circulate
throughout Google but has also been endorsed by 14 human rights organizations and
several technology experts.
I humbly ask that The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation call on
Google’s representative for the hearing, Mr. Keith Enright, to respond to the sincere
and credible concerns of the coalition of 14 human rights organizations who drafted an
August 28th Open Letter To Google. I also ask the committee to inquire about how
Google is meeting its commitments to privacy under its own AI Principles and the
Global Network Initiative, of which Google is a member.
Dragonfly is part of a broad pattern of unaccountable decision making across the tech
industry. It has been made clear, both by word and by action, that the leadership at
Google will be clamping down on the types of internal investigation that were necessary
to bring Project Dragonfly to light. I would hope that The Committee would help protect
the environment needed for future whistleblowers by taking steps to guarantee ethical
transparency and oversight across Silicon Valley.
Sincerely,