June 19 saw Alphabet’s annual shareholder meeting take place in Sunnyvale, California.
With protestors on the streets outside and a number of progressive policies being tabled and ultimately voted down by the board, the meeting was the latest moment in a storied 12+ months of internal issues and public criticism leveled at the search giant.
While pressure on Google to change continues to be on an upward trajectory, it was also something of a disappointing day for advocates of transparency, fairness, and equality both inside and outside of the company.
Let’s take a look at what happened and how this fits into the ongoing narrative of discord at Google and Alphabet.
First, a bit of background
As I reported for Search Engine Watch late last year, there has been growing discontent among Google employees about how the company is operating, with worker’s rights and leaked plans for the company to re-launch a search product (known as Dragonfly) in China[1] both being key concerns.
This came to a head in November when thousands of staff staged a mass walkout[2] from their offices in cities around the globe. The movement sought “to protest sexual harassment, misconduct, lack of transparency, and a workplace that doesn’t work for everyone,” with five demands put in front of directors – only one of which has been implemented so far.
Following the walkout, in late November, staff were moved to speak out publicly once more with an open letter to company leaders to stop the development of the Dragonfly project[3]. More than 500 employees signed the letter which aligned itself with calls by Amnesty International. “We object to technologies that