this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2025
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For the first time, I feel driven to speak publicly, because our company is now powering state violence across the globe.

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[–] anachrohack@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago (4 children)

So the author was fine with every other fucked up, privacy invading, monopolistic practice from Google, but it was a tenuous relationship with Israel that they can't forgive?

[–] diffusive@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

As much I care about privacy and free market, I still consider war or genocide to be worse. Call me crazy 🤷‍♂️

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 10 points 1 day ago

Listen pal, I was fine with invading Czechoslovakia, Poland, Denmark and the Netherlands, but I draw the line at France!

[–] Aux@feddit.uk 1 points 1 day ago

Privacy should not exist.

[–] coffeeismydrug@lemm.ee 4 points 1 day ago

i mean monopolistic and privacy invading versus associating with something that is slaughtering women and children in their own land, it's not the same in my opinion.

[–] rolling@lemmy.world 18 points 1 day ago (6 children)

She is still working there. Yeah, sure, maybe she is taking a risk now that her name is out there publicly criticizing, but this article is just for her to feel good about herself. "But look guys, I think Google sucks too, I am not bad like them. I just help them accomplish their goals and get paid for it 🙃"

[–] BackgrndNoize@lemmy.world 49 points 1 day ago (3 children)

She could have said nothing and kept quiet like the thousands of other workers at Google, this could not only get her fired but maybe even blacklisted in the industry, that's far more than you've ever done or will ever do to bring attention to this issue, so how about you keep that cynicism in check.

[–] primemagnus@lemmy.ca 13 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

100% will get her fired. 100%. Not now as it’s too connectable to the post she made, but in 6 months, they’ll find a reason to can her that can’t be traced to this.

I recall reading about one senior on the search team who had worked there for over a decade criticizing the changes G keeps making to favor their own interests (ads mostly) saying it degrades search results (he was right too as G has fallen to the same levels of DDG/Bing and Yahoo).

He got shuffled into a dead roll over the course of a year so he could no longer deter the project.

Now that’s a guy who didn’t want to build a bad product. What happens to people who take political stances that could hurt G’s revenue and stock prices? Yeah. She’s toast.

[–] rolling@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Ohh nooo. Poor her with all the stock options she got while working there from basically their startup days. Whatever this poor damsel will do with 20+ years of experience working in one of the biggest tech companies in the world.

I might not have the platform to bring attention to this issue, but hey, at least I don't actively help them, do their work and then reap the benefits of all the evil they do anyways.

Unlike her, my issues with Google does not end with the Israel issue. Google is evil regardless of this single issue.

[–] easily3667@lemmus.org 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

Well she's been working there since 2005. So she doesn't need the job. Or money. Or anything. She's just there.

Maybe you're the one who should keep the cynicism in check if you think people who have everything they could ever have wanted and have benefited on the evil deeds of their employer to the tune of millions and millions of dollars wouldn't speak out.

[–] graff@lemm.ee 8 points 1 day ago (2 children)

If all the people who disagreed left, there would be no chance of opposition

[–] easily3667@lemmus.org 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

You can't change things from the inside. A level 3 software developer isn't changing what google is doing.

She has more power if she's been there 20 years, but probably not much.

[–] graff@lemm.ee 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

That may be true, but you know who has less influence than a level 3 software developer working at Google? Someone who doesn't work at Google :)

[–] easily3667@lemmus.org 1 points 1 day ago

No that's too general a claim

[–] rolling@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

The opposition comes from us, the consumers who refuse to use Google products.

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[–] Vanilla_PuddinFudge@infosec.pub 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I degoogled for the first time two days ago aaaaand, it's actually way easier than I expected and actually, dare I say... fun?

Fun in that I have new apps to try, all over the place. I spent that whole evening combing f-droid for everything I need and got it all sorted out.

SMS? Backed up

Contacts? Backed up

Photos? Syncthing'd

Passwords? I'm a card carrying Keepass user.

Music? Pulled down my streaming service from Aurora and it just works.

Email? Thunderbird'd'd

Cloud? Mini PC'd and NFS'd

Google? Gone and not missed.

[–] lud@lemm.ee 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Email? Thunderbird’d’d

Thunderbird is only a mail client. Don't forget to actually move from gmail if you want to degoogle.

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[–] const_void@lemmy.ml 30 points 2 days ago

If you still use Chrome uninstall it now

[–] disconnectikacio@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] 2910000@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I remember getting a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach when Google removed "Don't be evil" from their Code of Conduct

[–] ragas@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Why else would you need to remove that phrase unless you wanted to do something bad?

[–] seeigel@feddit.org 1 points 1 day ago

When you start hiring less intelligent people who can't help but actually believe the propaganda.

[–] Jimmycakes@lemmy.world 12 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Do they feel heartbreak over the millions of dollars in compensation and stock options they've collected in those decades? Easy to write piece like this and go back to your comfortable lifestyle and just feel the fuzzy feeling of speaking out about a bad guy.

[–] FlyingSpaceCow@lemmy.ca 26 points 1 day ago

I'm still glad they wrote the piece.

[–] CalipherJones@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

Nothing is enough for guys that comment on the internet. Maybe they should post comments on lemmy. That'll show the world.

[–] echinacea@lemm.ee 24 points 2 days ago

Google/Alphabet's previous CEO and Chairman Eric Schmidt was best friends with Henry Kissinger.

[–] Letsdothisok@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

Googlecide?

[–] vane@lemmy.world 16 points 2 days ago

Project Maven started in 2017. Stop making evil people famous and expecting something will change.

[–] doingthestuff@lemy.lol 18 points 2 days ago (2 children)

The author should have quit long ago. Many employees are complicit.

[–] Pirata@lemm.ee 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

They get paid 500k a year.

[–] doingthestuff@lemy.lol 2 points 1 day ago

Yeah, I get paid 1/10th of that and I could do a lot better - and I used to - but I work for a nonprofit I care about. Greed is a hell of a drug.

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[–] azha@lemm.ee 6 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Ive been using Vivaldi for over 3 years and never been happier plus I don't have any google account and degoogled my devices.

[–] zarkanian@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago

Vivaldi is closed-source, and it still uses Google's engine. Good for you for moving away from Google, but you have much better options available to you: FireDragon, Zen, and the rest of the Mozilla browsers.

For me? It's Qwant and .

[–] nonentity@sh.itjust.works 16 points 2 days ago
[–] mannycalavera@feddit.uk 179 points 3 days ago (14 children)
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[–] MITM0@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

For some reason I don't find her sudden change of heart convincing. & I am happy to know that the rest of you feel the same.

[–] Clinicallydepressedpoochie@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] jdeath@lemm.ee 9 points 2 days ago

always has been

[–] Sixtyforce@sh.itjust.works 38 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Can't be many of us who thought the web search engine company would turn into the killbot company.

[–] Aceofspades@lemmy.ca 21 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I got a little suspicious when they stopped using "Don't be evil".

[–] LanguageIsCool@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

At least they didn’t keep up the farce and exaggerate it: “Don’t be evil. Ever. We’re still not evil. Nuh uh, nope.”

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"Dont be evil" was never a promise it always had been a warning to the users.

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