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Generative AI & Disinformation: Exempt Solicitation Filed at Alphabet

Generative AI & Disinformation: Exempt Solicitation Filed at Alphabet

In response to Alphabet’s recommendation to vote “against” the proposal, Open MIC filed an exempt solicitation letter with the SEC, again making the case for increased transparency and active risk mitigation to prevent widespread harms due to misinformation and disinformation resulting from generative AI products.

Ahead of This Year’s Elections, Shareholders Demand Transparency from Big Tech on Risks of AI-Powered Disinformation

Ahead of This Year’s Elections, Shareholders Demand Transparency from Big Tech on Risks of AI-Powered Disinformation

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.

Majority of Alphabet Independent Shareholders Vote To Support A Racial Equity Audit

Majority of Alphabet Independent Shareholders Vote To Support A Racial Equity Audit

According to final voting numbers for Alphabet’s 2022 annual general meeting, approximately 64.3 percent of independent shareholders voted in favor of a third-party racial equity audit analyzing the company’s impacts on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. However the proposal failed to earn an overall majority due to the outsized voting power of Alphabet founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

Alphabet Insider Shareholders: Support the Shareholder Proposal for a Racial Equity Audit

Alphabet Insider Shareholders: Support the Shareholder Proposal for a Racial Equity Audit

Sergey Brin, Larry Page, and Eric Schmidt: As Class B shareholders, your support or abstention has the power to make or break this popular and necessary investor-led advocacy. We urge you to uphold Alphabet’s principles and “do the right thing” by supporting proposal 9 for an independent racial equity audit.

Alphabet Shareholders File Proposal for Racial Equity Audit, Activists and Employees Endorse

Alphabet Shareholders File Proposal for Racial Equity Audit, Activists and Employees Endorse

Earlier this week, the Nathan Cummings Foundation filed a shareholder proposal asking Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, to commission an independent racial equity audit “analyzing Alphabet Inc.’s adverse impacts on Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.”

Shareholders Want Google to Protect — Not Punish — Employees Who Voice Human Rights Concerns

Shareholders Want Google to Protect — Not Punish — Employees Who Voice Human Rights Concerns

Leading up to the June 3 annual meeting of Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, investors have filed a shareholder proposal asking the company’s Board of Directors to evaluate its whistleblower protection policy, and to improve company practices to ensure the protection of employees who raise concerns about human rights abuses and other threats to the public interest.

Shareholders Tell Google and Facebook: Confronting Your Civil Rights Failures Includes Fixing Your Boards

Shareholders Tell Google and Facebook: Confronting Your Civil Rights Failures Includes Fixing Your Boards

Citing a host of concerns about social media platforms and their global impact on civil and human rights, shareholders have filed proposals at Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Facebook and Twitter asking the companies to establish Director-level oversight and expertise on those issues. Shareholders are concerned by big tech’s ongoing negligence around enabling racism and discrimination online and threatening the human rights of consumers worldwide.

Shareholders Tell Google to Prioritize Human Rights and Rethink China Search Product

Shareholders Tell Google to Prioritize Human Rights and Rethink China Search Product

A coalition of Google shareholders has filed a resolution asking the company to publish a human rights impact assessment for a controversial censored search product -- called "Dragonfly" -- that Google is reportedly developing for use in China. Led by Azzad Asset Management, the shareholders are concerned that Google's compliance with China’s repressive laws would facilitate and legitimize surveillance and censorship, posing serious human rights risks. 

POLITICO Covers Google shareholder revolts over ‘Project Dragonfly’

POLITICO Covers Google shareholder revolts over ‘Project Dragonfly’

An institutional shareholder in Google is calling on the tech giant to disclose information about the risks associated with a controversial Chinese search engine product, "Project Dragonfly," that has drawn criticism from lawmakers and activists.

Azzad Asset Management, a socially responsible investment firm, on Monday filed a shareholder petition asking Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc., to evaluate the potential impact on investors if Google developed a censored search engine in China and to publish a report on its findings by Oct. 30, 2019.

Facebook, Google and Twitter Investors Demand Answers and Accountability Following 2016 Election Interference

Shareholders in Facebook, Google and Twitter with assets worth more than $25 billion have filed proposals with the companies in the last week demanding answers and accountability related to  foreign interference in the 2016 presidential election, as well as threats posed by the growth of hate speech and disinformation on the three platforms.

Fake News Is Focus Of New Shareholder Advocacy Push At Facebook And Google

Concerned that long-term shareholder wealth may be at risk if Facebook and Google do not do enough to “address fake news and hoaxes,” Arjuna Capital, in partnership with Baldwin Brothers, Inc., is asking the two tech giants (proposals to Google here and Facebook here) to evaluate the impact fabricated content is having on their platforms and businesses. 

Investors Applaud Google's Ban of Payday Loan Ads

Today Google announced it will ban ads for payday loans and other predatory lending products. Payday loans are short-term, high-interest loans that create and perpetuate cycles of debt among low income communities. With its new policy, Google is taking a big step to curtail the harmful impact of predatory lending schemes on its users. Low income people — the primary targets of economically exploitative ploys both online and off — stand to benefit most from the policy change.