Lead filer Arjuna capital provided an exempt solicitation letter to the SEC in response to Meta’s opposition statement, further clarifying the purpose of the proposed annual report, and the need for additional transparency and oversight related to gAI misinformation.
The rise of generative AI (gAI) over the last 18 months has raised numerous questions about how to regulate these powerful new technologies so that they do not compromise people’s ability to exercise their human rights. Generative AI poses a particular threat to the right to freedom of expression, including the right to access information, because it makes it so easy to create and spread deceptive, yet believable content. False content threatens people’s ability to make informed decisions, a prerequisite for healthy democracies.
Shareholders at Alphabet and Meta, following on the success of a similar resolution at Microsoft last month, have filed shareholder proposals recommending that the companies issue annual reports on the risks of misinformation and disinformation produced and amplified by their deployment of generative artificial intelligence (gAI). All three companies have made multibillion dollar investments in gAI.
At Microsoft’s annual general meeting on Thursday, shareholders will vote on a resolution recommending that the company issue an annual report on the material risks of generative AI-powered mis- and disinformation to its business operations. The proposed report would include Microsoft’s plans to mitigate those risks, as well as the effectiveness of its efforts. The resolution, which appears as Proposal 13 on the company’s proxy statement, was submitted by Arjuna Capital (lead filer), Azzad Asset Management, Eko, and Open MIC.
“Finance-focused strategies promise to be a game-changer in advancing human rights in the digital age,” said Jessica Dheere. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to build on Open MIC’s pioneering work in this field and to explore new frontiers, by broadening the base of people who are adept at challenging corporate power to ensure that information technologies do not compromise—and ideally reinforce—social justice and people’s expression, privacy, and labor rights.”
The big tech companies have tremendous positive potential, and tremendous capacity to harm. Over the past several years, investors have turned up the pressure on tech, shattering shareholder proposal records and making the case for responsible and rights-respecting corporate governance. Open MIC has been, and continues to be, an important part of that effort.
This year, Amazon is facing an astonishing eighteen proposals from its own shareholders at its annual general meeting—a record number for any single company in a given year. The proposals—all of which the company opposes—call on Amazon to answer tough questions on a variety of technology impacts, labor practices, and corporate governance concerns.
JUNE 11, 2020 — Following intense pressure from shareholders and media justice and civil rights organizations, Amazon announced yesterday that it will impose a one-year moratorium on police use of Rekognition, the company’s highly-criticized and racially biased facial recognition technology. In response to the company’s announcement yesterday, Michael Connor, Executive Director of Open MIC––a non-profit that works with shareholders to foster corporate accountability in the tech sector––said, “This is welcome news after years of shareholders’ organizing to push Amazon to end sales of harmful, unregulated technology to police. But it’s only a temporary moratorium, and it doesn’t address deeper concerns that shareholders have regarding Amazon’s role in a rapidly-developing surveillance economy.”
NEW YORK CITY - June 1, 2020 – Shareholders of Facebook and Amazon (whose names are not Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Bezos) are sending an important message regarding a host of serious concerns affecting corporate governance, political advertising, facial recognition, surveillance and other critical civil rights issues.
After Amazon tried—and failed—to block a resolution filed by shareholders asking the company’s Board of Directors to conduct an independent review of the effectiveness of Amazon’s customer due diligence process, including whether customers’ use of Amazon products results in human rights violations.
In a major victory for investors, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ruled late yesterday that Amazon must give shareholders an opportunity to consider and vote on two separate shareholder resolutions that address major business risks posed by the sale of Amazon's facial recognition technology to government agencies. The SEC’s ruling comes amidst mounting criticism of the Amazon technology, “Rekognition,” as racially biased.
Citing critical concerns over immigrant surveillance of vulnerable communities, racial profiling, and other civil and human rights violations, Amazon shareholders have filed a resolution asking the company to prohibit sales of “Rekognition”, Amazon’s facial recognition technology, to government agencies — unless the company’s Board concludes the technology does not pose actual or potential civil and human rights risk.
