Today’s top tech stories:
- Apple says it will detect and report child pornography on its devices
- Qualcomm bids $4.6 billion for auto tech company Veoneer
- Amazon is the latest to delay its return-to-office plans
Corporate America’s race problem
Laura Murphy is a civil rights advocate and business consultant, who has developed an innovative approach to forcing big companies such as Facebook Inc. and Airbnb Inc. to take an honest look at how their products and policies may be perpetuating racism or endangering the rights of vulnerable populations.
The model she is championing is called a corporate civil rights audit. Here’s how it works: A company (often when facing a race-related controversy) hires someone like Murphy to pursue a top-to-bottom review of their business to look for potential discrimination. The audit is then released publicly, which offers leverage to social justice advocacy groups to pressure the company to adopt the recommended reforms.
In 2016, Murphy test drove the model with Airbnb, which was steeped in a public controversy over reports that Black travelers were less likely to be accepted as guests than their White counterparts. Over the course of a few months, she participated in dozens of meetings and conference calls with Airbnb staffers, outside lawyers, civil rights critics and Airbnb users to trade ideas about how the company could create a more equitable environment for travelers of color. Murphy said it was also critical that she met with Chief Executive Officer Brian Chesky, so that people inside and outside the company knew the audit was being taken seriously.
In the end, Airbnb adopted a new nondiscrimination policy, which required hosts to pledge they would treat every guest equally regardless of their race, religion, or gender. A couple of years after the audit was first released, Airbnb also decided to remove guest photos from the booking processa request that some civil rights activists had long called for. Today, some of Airbnb biggest critics have turned into the company’s cheerleaders as it pursues more anti-discrimination projects.
It’s no surprise that Murphy has been the one to bring top tech executives to the table with their biggest critics among the civil rights community. During a long career in Washington, she developed a reputation for cultivating unlikely allies to get her agenda accomplished. When she was the top lobbyist at the American Civil Liberties Union, she once rented a limo to travel to the National Rifle Association’s headquarters to convince them to join forces with her to advocate against overly aggressive policing. They relented, and the unusual partnership attracted media attention.
Activists are hoping to replicate the success Murphy had with Airbnb at big corporations in the technology and financial services industries such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Amazon.com Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. The companies have so far rebuffed those calls, but it’s not hard to imagine the kind of questions a civil rights auditor might examine. Does the algorithm powering YouTube promote the radicalization of White supremacists? Are JPMorgan and Wells Fargo discriminating against borrowers of color? Is Amazon treating the Black and White employees in its fulfillment centers equally?
If there is one critical lesson I have learned from reporting on Murphy’s work, it’s that civil rights audits have their limits. Even if those other companies agree to conduct an audit, there is no guarantee they will grant someone like Murphy the access to the information she needs to make a thorough analysis. And there is no guarantee that companies will listen to her after she explains to them why their products are racist. The wiggle room afforded to corporations in this approach is one reason why civil rights activists are trying to take advantage of a Democratic majority in Washington to lobby for legislation that aims to curb discrimination on tech platforms. Ultimately, the most effective way of eradicating racism at major companies is if the leaders at those institutions decide it’s a critical priority.—Naomi Nix
If you read one thing
While ride-hailing improved as coronavirus restrictions eased, Uber still managed to lose more money with its do-it-all approach.
And here’s what you need to know in global technology news
Tiger Global invested $200 million in education technology company GoGuardian, betting the boom in classroom tech will continue past the pandemic.
Amazon and Flipcart are among the delivery companies in India that are having a hard time finding enough vehicles to meet targets to electrify their fleets.
"light" - Google News
August 06, 2021 at 05:45PM
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Shining a Light on Racial Inequity - Bloomberg
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