Saudi Arabia will stop at nothing to silence activists, journalists, and anyone who dares to stand up to it. But Google is planning to build a data center in Saudi Arabia -- putting thousands of people’s lives at risk.
Saudi Arabia already has a track record for hacking into Big Tech companies, and using that data to jail and torture activists.
Last year, the Ekō community filed a shareholder resolution with Alphabet, Google’s parent company, about this very issue, and it did exceptionally well with investors. Now we're doing it again.
On June 2, Google investors will vote once more on this important resolution — putting CEO Sundar Pichai and other executives on alarm. Let’s keep up the pressure and show Google that people all over the world are demanding that it scraps this data center in Saudi Arabia. Add your name, and we'll deliver our voices during Alphabet's AGM.
Tell Google: don’t build a data center in Saudi Arabia.
We know Saudi Arabia will likely try to infiltrate the data center — it has already done it before with Twitter. Two Saudi spies worked for Twitter and leaked sensitive data about activists to the Saudi government, and now those activists have been jailed and tortured.
What’s to stop Saudi Arabia from doing the exact same thing with this new Google data center?
Google still refuses to disclose how it will vet employees that work at the center, and how it will respond to government demands to hand over sensitive data about individuals — especially if the demands are in-line with Saudi Arabian law, but not with international human rights standards. Google could be forced to cooperate with the Saudi Arabian government, putting thousands of people's lives at risk.
Our shareholder resolution last year received 57% of the independent vote -- a strong indication that Google investors are seriously concerned with the company's decision to build this data center. Since the resolution did so well, we were able to file it again, and major investor groups have just come out in support of it.
Google could scrap this horrendous deal entirely, but it will only happen if it faces unprecedented pressure. Add your name and share this widely —
More information
New York Post. 24 April 2022.
The Guardian. 9 April 2021.
SMEX. 30 April 2021.
Buzzfeed News. 19 February 2020.
Human Rights Watch. 26 May 2021.