Alphabet

Eric Schmidt’s Massive Conflicts of Interest

Posted on by Paul Chesser
Eric Schmidt/PHOTO: jdlasica (CC)

For a while after Joe Biden was recognized as the victor in the November presidential election, political punditry wondered which direction he would go: pro- or anti-Big Tech?

That has been clearly answered, as Biden installed several Silicon Valley influencers on his transition team, which in turn have helped populate his administration with former Big Tech executives.

Tops among them has been former Google/Alphabet CEO/Chairman Eric Schmidt, whose role hasn’t been formalized by name, but his presence certainly has been.

It’s not Schmidt’s ties to the search engine tech giant that are of greatest interest any more. Instead it’s his role as board member and top investor on a shiny new defense contractor that specializes in artificial intelligence technology, called Rebellion Defense, that is concerning because of a likely conflict of interest for Schmidt.

According to a report last month from The American Prospect… Read More ➡

Would Tech Oligarchs Dominate a Biden Administration?

Posted on by Paul Chesser
Eric Schmidt/PHOTO: jdlasica (CC)

Should Joe Biden end up being the next President of the United States, former Alphabet (parent company of Google) CEO and Chairman Eric Schmidt has been talked about the most as his top advisor for tech issues.

The Financial Times reported last week that Biden is looking to the big names in Silicon Valley to create an in-White-House tech task force, led by Schmidt. The article said Biden has already hired away top executives from Apple and Facebook for his prospective transition team. And according to CBS News, his political team is advised by executives with tech firms formed by Schmidt and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, both mega-donors for Biden’s election efforts.

Some far-leftists apparently held out hope that Biden might gravitate towards the Elizabeth Warren “break up Big Tech” perspective and embrace more big government regulation, especially after he approved an October … Read More ➡

Google Co-Founders Go Deeper in Hiding as 2020 Approaches

Posted on by Paul Chesser

Larry Page & Sergey Brin/IMAGE: YouTube

Expect nothing substantive to change at Google and parent company Alphabet, following Tuesday’s announced departures of co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin from their roles as CEO and president, respectively, of Alphabet.

The moves made big headlines, but the pair is mostly invisible anyway, leaving Google CEO Sundar Pichai – who will now hold that title for Alphabet also – to take the frequent slings and arrows that are now regularly thrown at the companies, as he mostly already has in recent years. But in reality Page and Brin will still call the shots, thanks to their ownership of special classes of “super-voting” stock that gives them majority control.

The announcement of their moves admitted as much.

“We are deeply committed to Google and Alphabet for the long term, and will remain actively involved as Board members, shareholders and co-founders,” Page and Brin wrote. … Read More ➡

Will Alphabet/Google Be Transparent in Its Sexual Harassment Investigation?

Posted on by Paul Chesser

Following the introduction and eventual rejection of a shareholder resolution sponsored by National Legal and Policy Center at the annual meeting of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, board members are now investigating sexual harassment claims against some of its executives.

The resolution, announced a year ago by NLPC president Peter Flaherty, followed the height of the #MeToo movement in which women who had been sexually harassed – or even assaulted – came forward to expose what happened to them in the workplace. The proposal sought accountability and transparency in how Alphabet/Google has handled various claims of such misconduct, and also called for more ideological balance on the heavily left-leaning board of directors. The annual meeting was held in June.

The current investigation by a select committee of Alphabet’s board, along with the hiring of a law firm to aid the probe, was revealed this month in a report… Read More ➡

YouTube Demonetizes Video About Ilhan Omar FEC Complaint

Posted on by Peter Flaherty


According to a YouTuber known as Viva Frei, his video explaining our Complaint filed Wednesday has been demonetized. We have had no contact with him, and until now, had never heard of him. He has 108,000 subscribers to his channel and the Omar video has almost 15,000 views.

Viva Frei actually does a pretty good job breaking down the Complaint. In fact, his analysis is painstakingly neutral and compares favorably to some of the reports in the regular media. Viva Frei states in the comment section of his video:

So this video was demonetized off the bat – when it was unlisted with 3 views. I requested a manual review, and after review the video was remonetized. 8,500 views later, it was suddenly demonetized yet again. This is absurd… Could everyone tweet this video at YouTube and their team? It’s been absurd for a while. Now it’s just getting ridiculous.

… Read More ➡

New Details of Google Exec’s Behavior Put Spotlight on Company’s Policies

Posted on by Paul Chesser

Andy Rubin/IMAGE: YouTube

Revelations last week from a former Google executive’s legal dispute with his estranged wife underscore an even greater need for the search giant to adopt measures outlined in a recent shareholder proposal presented by the National Legal and Policy Center.

The new developments came from the release of court filings by a California state judge in a clash between Andy Rubin, creator of Google’s popular Android operating system, and his wife Rie. The New York Times had reported in a widely distributed October story that the Silicon Valley company gave Rubin a celebratory send-off upon his departure in 2014, which cloaked the fact that he was told to resign over coercive sexual misconduct and an affair with a subordinate. Rather than quietly send their prized employee away, he was instead granted a golden parachute of $90 million – paid out in increments of approximate $2 million per … Read More ➡

Exposed: Google’s Plan to Stop Trump in 2020

Posted on by Paul Chesser

On the heels of an annual meeting in which it was called to account by two investor organizations – including National Legal and Policy Center – for its antagonism against conservatives and libertarians, Google has been further exposed, for efforts to prevent President Donald Trump’s reelection and to maintain all the power it wields in order to accomplish it.

Project Veritas, the undercover investigative nonprofit led by James O’Keefe, learned of the effort from an unidentified Google insider who divulged the leftist company’s intentions for the 2020 campaign. In addition to an extensive interview with the whistleblower, Veritas obtained lengthy and detailed footage of top executive Jen Gennai, the tech giant’s Head of Responsible Innovation, who unknowingly explained Google’s strategy for the next election cycle.

As Veritas reported, Gennai said Google’s aim is to avoid a repeat of the election results of 2 ½ years ago.

“We all got … Read More ➡

Flaherty Rips Alphabet/Google at Annual Meeting for Caving to ‘Left-Wing Mob’

Posted on by Peter Flaherty

Today, I presented our shareholder proposal on combatting sexual harassment at the annual meeting of Alphabet in Sunnyvale, California. The resolution was opposed by the company. The text of my remarks are below this video of my presentation:

I can’t figure out why the company opposes this proposal on sexual harassment after pledging to do all it can about sexual harassment.

Well, maybe it’s because there is not an ounce of sincerity in any of the reasons Alphabet cites. The real reason is that this company, and most of the rest of corporate America, is not governed by what is in the interests of shareholders or society as a whole

Instead, it’s is governed by what the Left-wing mob demands. Alphabet will only support initiatives that advance an agenda.

In my supporting statement, I argued that more political and ideological diversity would create a more respectful workplace. I guess that … Read More ➡

Shareholder Proposal on Sexual Harassment to be Considered at Alphabet (Google) Annual Meeting

Posted on by NLPC Staff

On Wednesday, June 19, a shareholder proposal sponsored by the National Legal and Policy Center will be presented by NLPC Chairman Peter Flaherty at the Alphabet (Google) annual meeting in Sunnyvale, California. Here is the text of the resolution and supporting statement:

WHEREAS, Company executives have aggressively allied themselves with a variety of progressive social and political causes at the same time sexual harassment is alleged to be a serious problem within the Company by many of the Company’s own employees.

This hypocrisy threatens the Company’s reputation. The fate of The Weinstein Company LLC, which has declared bankruptcy, underscores this risk.

Several public companies have lost billions in market capitalization shortly after executives have been accused of sexual misconduct, prompting lawsuits by shareholders.

Recent events have placed the Company’s policies and practices under scrutiny. In December 2017, then-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors Eric Schmidt abruptly and unexpectedly stepped … Read More ➡

Google Must Embrace Sexual Harassment Shareholder Proposal in Wake of Cover-Up Allegations

Posted on by Paul Chesser

Schmidt and Rubin

The revelation this week that Google made mega-payouts to two former executives accused of sexual harassment highlights the need for the adoption of a resolution by the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), which is a shareholder in parent company Alphabet Inc.

According to NLPC Chairman Peter Flaherty, “Alphabet’s management must end the stonewall. A necessary first step is to embrace our shareholder proposal on sexual harassment.”

According to disclosures related to a civil shareholder lawsuit that alleges Google consistently hid sexual harassment and discrimination claims by employees, former Android software creator Andy Rubin was paid $90 million upon his departure, and head of search Amit Singhal was offered $45 million when he left, although the amount was reduced to $15 million because he was hired by a competitor.

Information from the lawsuit says a former employee under Rubin claimed that he pressured her into oral sex, … Read More ➡