Google Faces Controversy From Internal Political Debates

To put it mildly, 2019 has been a rough year for Google and politics. A recent New York Times investigation explored how YouTube helped to radicalize one man — and in doing so ventured into how technology enables this on a wider scale. Politicians from across the ideological spectrum have criticized Google: Elizabeth Warren has called for the company to be broken up, while Warren’s fellow Senator Josh Hawley recently introduced legislation that would have a wide-ranging impact on a number of sites, including YouTube.

But the political critiques haven’t just come from politicians and the media. Google is also wrestling with internal political debates — which have also eluded falling into one partisan or ideological category.

A new report at Recode explores some of the issues currently at stake. The most recent of these emerged earlier this week, as engineer Kevin Cernekee argued that he was fired by Google as a result of his political conservatism. (Recode reports that “Google said it fired him for misusing company equipment.”) It’s one of several instances that have caused conservatives to argue that the tech industry is biased against them.

Google is also under fire from progressives, however. To cite one example, the controversy surrounding YouTube’s hosting of pundit Steven Crowder — who was criticized when his followers harassed journalist Carlos Maza — led to some Google employees protesting their own company at the San Francisco Pride Parade earlier this year.

Recode’s report explores Google’s relatively open corporate culture, where for years employees could “ask management unplanned, ad-hoc questions” at regular meetings. The article describes a corporate culture that’s become less open over the years — which is in and of itself drawing some criticism from within the company.

The Google Code of Conduct closes with an inspirational line: “And remember… don’t be evil, and if you see something that you think isn’t right – speak up!” To read Recode’s exploration of the current state of Google showcases a company struggling to find the right space between their ideals and a constantly changing world.

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