We are Google employees. Google must drop Dragonfly

We are Google employees and we join Amnesty International in calling on Google to cancel project Dragonfly, Google’s effort to create a censored search engine for the Chinese market that enables state surveillance.

We are among thousands of employees who have raised our voices for months. International human rights organizations and investigative reporters have also sounded the alarm, emphasizing serious human rights concerns and repeatedly calling on Google to cancel the project. So far, our leadership’s response has been unsatisfactory.

Our opposition to Dragonfly is not about China: we object to technologies that aid the powerful in oppressing the vulnerable, wherever they may be. The Chinese government certainly isn’t alone in its readiness to stifle freedom of expression, and to use surveillance to repress dissent. Dragonfly in China would establish a dangerous precedent at a volatile political moment, one that would make it harder for Google to deny other countries similar concessions.

Our company’s decision comes as the Chinese government is openly expanding its surveillance powers and tools of population control. Many of these rely on advanced technologies, and combine online activity, personal records, and mass monitoring to track and profile citizens. Reports are already showing who bears the cost, including Uyghurs, women’s rights advocates, and students. Providing the Chinese government with ready access to user data, as required by Chinese law, would make Google complicit in oppression and human rights abuses.

Dragonfly would also enable censorship and government-directed disinformation, and destabilize the ground truth on which popular deliberation and dissent rely. Given the Chinese government’s reported suppression of dissident voices, such controls would likely be used to silence marginalized people, and favor information that promotes government interests.

Many of us accepted employment at Google with the company’s values in mind, including its previous position on Chinese censorship and surveillance, and an understanding that Google was a company willing to place its values above its profits. After a year of disappointments including Project Maven, Dragonfly, and Google’s support for abusers, we no longer believe this is the case. This is why we’re taking a stand.

We join with Amnesty International in demanding that Google cancel Dragonfly. We also demand that leadership commit to transparency, clear communication, and real accountability. Google is too powerful not to be held accountable. We deserve to know what we’re building and we deserve a say in these significant decisions.

Signed,

Rebecca Ackermann, UX Designer
Wilson Afonso, Senior Site Reliability Engineer
Ammar Aijazi, Software Engineer
Owain G. Ainsworth, Senior Site Reliability Engineer
Ange Albertini, Security Engineer
Alejandro Alderman, Software Engineer
David H. Alexander, Senior Software Engineer
Sarah Allen, Technical Lead/Manager
Randy Almand, Software Engineer
Abdulmajid Alnouri, Software Engineer
Alon Altman, Senior Site Reliability Engineer
Nina-Marie Amadeo, Software Engineer
Andrés Ambrois, Senior Site Reliability Engineer
Christopher Anderson, Senior Software Engineer
Ryan Anderson, Site Reliability Engineer
David Anderson, Site Reliability Engineer
Allison Andrews, Site Reliability Engineer
Jamie Andrews, Software Engineer, Tools and Infrastructure
Olivier Ansaldi, Site Reliability Engineer
Wesley Aptekar-Cassels, Site Reliability Engineer
Guillaume Aubian, Software Engineer
Arianna Avanzini, Site Reliability Engineer
Ihab Awad, Senior Software Engineer
Maciej Babinski, Software Engineer
Eva Bacon, Program Manager
Daniel Bali, Software Engineer
Janos Barbero, Software engineer
Eric Barndollar, Staff Software Engineer
Ivan Baroni, Analytical Lead
Pierre-Alexandre Bastarache Roberge, Software Developer
Laetitia Baudoin, Software Engineer
Daniel Bauman, Software Engineer
Pinal Bavishi, Software Engineer
Matt Beaumont-Gay, Senior Software Engineer
David Bendebury, Software Engineer
Skye Berghel, Software Engineer
Alberto Bertogli, Senior Site Reliability Engineer
Luca Bigliardi, Site Reliability Engineer
Steven Bills, Software Engineer
Max Bittker, Software Engineer 
Ryan Biwer, Software Engineer
Naomi Black, Technical Program Manager
Donald S. Black, Software Engineer
Adam Blackburn Norberg, Senior Software Engineer
Penny Blackwell, Program Manager
Bryan Blatt, Software Engineer
Dan Boger, Site Reliability Engineer
Benoit Boissinot, Senior Software Engineer
Peter Boothe, Software Engineer
David Bort, Staff Software Engineer
Randall Bosetti, Senior Staff Site Reliability Engineer
Pierre Bourdon, Senior Software Engineer
Jen Bourey, Staff Software Engineer
Jeff Bowden, Senior Software Engineer
Keith Brady, Staff Site Reliability Engineer
Matthew Braithwaite, Software Engineer
Gordon Brander, Designer
Shawn Brenneman, Software Engineer
Michael Bringle, Software Engineer
Joshua Brown, Software Engineer
Evan Brown, Software Engineer
Chad Brubaker, Senior Software Engineer
Christian Brunschen, Software Engineer
John Bryan, Software Engineer
Colm Buckley, Engineering Director
Liza Burakova, Security Engineer
Bri Burr, Software Engineer
Toby Burress, Site Reliability Engineer
Jason Cahoon, Site Reliability Engineer
Francis Carr, Software Engineer
Matt Carson, Senior Software Engineer
Erik Carter, Art Director
Mike Castle, Release Engineer
Mike Castner, Program Manager
John Cater, Senior Software Engineer
Bruno Cauet, Software Engineer
Clay Caviness, Site Reliability Engineer
John Chadwick, Site Reliability Engineer
Rodrigo Chandia, Software Engineer
Paul Chang, Senior Software Engineer
Craig Chasseur, Senior Software Engineer
David Chess, Software Engineer
Jared Christen, Software Engineer, Tools & Infrastructure
Sergio Clemente Filho, Software Engineer
Isaac Clerencia, Site Reliability Engineer
Marc Cohen, Staff Developer Advocate
Travis Collins, Senior Software Engineer
Marie Collins, Business Analyst
Mike Conley, Senior Technical Program Manager
Patrick Conner, Software Engineer
Ollie Cook, Site Reliability Engineer
Brett Cooley, Software Engineer
Jim Coursey, Sound Designer
Paul Cowan, Site Reliability Manager
Charles Crissman, Senior Software Engineer
James Crooks, Software Engineer, Site Reliability
Stryder Crown, Custom Solutions Engineer
Ben Cruz, Program Manager
Cian Cullinan, Site Reliability Engineer
Aleksandra Culver, Senior Site Reliability Engineer
Marco Cunha, Strategic Cloud Engineer
Silas Cutler, Security Engineer
Fergal Daly, Software Engineer
Philip Davis, Site Reliability Engineer
Michael De Rosa, Site Reliability Engineer
Josh Deprez, Senior Site Reliability Engineer
Todd Derr, Software Engineer
Aloke Desai, Software Engineer
Damien Desfontaines, Privacy Engineer
Bernard Desmyter, Software Engineer
Susan Dickey, Software Engineer
Patrick Dixon, Software Engineer
Kate Donahue, Software Engineer
Giles Douglas, Senior Staff Software Engineer
Don Dresser, Technical Program Manager
Karel Driesen, Senior Software Engineer
Carol Drysdale, Software Engineer
Grégoire Duchêne, Software Engineer
Paul Duke, Software Engineer
Thai Duong, Information Security Engineer
Bobby Dygert, Senior Software Engineer
Z Edens, Software Engineer
Julia Edholm, Senior Software Engineer
Ben Eggers, Site Reliability Engineer
Abraham Egnor, Senior Software Engineer
Todd Eisenberger, Senior Software Engineer
Joshua Emele, Software Engineer
Alexandre Emelianov, Software Engineer
John Eric Hoffmann, Software Engineer
Burcin Erocal, Site Reliability Engineer
Jennifer Evans, Program Manager
Gabriel Ewing, Software Engineer
Michael Falgoust, UX Researcher
Nick Felt, Software Engineer
Alexandra Ferguson, Corporate Operations Engineer
Mark Fickett, Software Engineer
Sean Finney, Site Reliability Engineer
Paul Fisher, Senior software engineer
Liz Fong-Jones, Staff Developer Advocate
Vinicius Fortuna, Staff Software Engineer, Manager
Roman Franchuk, Site Reliability Engineer
Gustavo Franco, Site Reliability Manager
Matthew Frazier, Engineering Manager
Amr Gaber, Software Engineer
Cory Gagliardi, Software Engineer
Gianni Gambetti, Software Engineer
Antonio Garcia, Software Engineer
Matthew Garrett, Staff Security Engineer
Hugo Genesse, Security Engineer
Nicole Gfroerer, Program Manager
Dan Glick, Software Engineer
Lynne Goerner, Software Engineer
Beth Goldberg, Research Program Manager
Brian Goldman, Software Engineer
Boaz Goldstein, Site Reliability Engineer
Pedro Gonnet, Senior Software Engineer
Ian Gorham, Software Engineer
Ian Gowen, Software Engineer
Reilly Grant, Senior Software Engineer
Sachith Gullapalli, Software Engineer
Andrew Gunsch, Staff Software Engineer
Tanuja Gupta, Program Manager
Bruce Hahne, Technical Program Manager
Jaakko Häme, Technical Specialist
Logan Hanks, Staff Software Engineer
Shawn Hannah, Technical Program Manager
Mila Hardt, Software Engineer
Alyssa Haroldsen, Software Engineer
Vanessa Harris, Product Manager
Gautam Hathi, Software Engineer
Toby Hawker, Software Engineer
Will Hayworth, Software Engineer
Anastasia Helfinstein, Software Engineer
Anna Henrichs, Data Analyst
Andy Herrman, Senior Software Engineer
Johnicholas Hines, Software Engineer
Andrew Ho, Staff Software Engineer
Paul Hobbs, Software Engineer
Sarah Hodne, Site Reliability Engineer
Aidan Holloway-Bidwell, Software Engineer in Tools and Infrastructure
Tyler Holsclaw, IT Resident
Aaron Homer, Software Engineer
Dan Hope, UX Writer
Hollee Hord, Program Manager
Waldemar Horwat, Staff Software Engineer
Daniel Houck, Site Reliability Engineer
Kuan-Yu Hsiao, Google Ads Program Manager 
David B Huang, Strategy & Operations Associate
Sebastian Hubbard, Software Engineer
Brady Hunsaker, Software Engineer
Eric Hustvedt, Site Reliability Engineer
Ben Hutchinson, Senior Software Engineer
Simon Ilyushchenko, Software Engineer
Sebastiaan Indesteege, Senior Software Engineer
Kelli Ireland, Software Engineer
Dan Irwin, Senior Test Engineer
Pavel Ivanov, Senior Software Engineer
Michał Jabczyński, Software Engineer
Keith Jackson, Software Engineer
Justyna Jagiello Bradley, Program Manager
Bartosz Janiak, Software Engineer
Phoebe Jenkins, Software Engineer
Brandon Jewett-Hall, Software Engineer
Hongming Jin, Senior Software Engineer
Tim Johnson, Sr. Security Engineer
Patrick Jones, Technical Program Manager
Brandon Jones, Software Engineer
Abi Jones, Senior Interaction Designer
Chris Jones, Engineer
Mike Jurney, Site Reliability Engineer
Max Kaehn, Senior Software Engineer
Alex Kahn, Software Engineer
Steinar Kaldager, Site Reliability Engineer
Christophe Kalt, Site Reliability Manager
Tom Karlo, Senior Product Manager
Kris Kennaway, Staff Site Reliability Engineer
Gabriel Kerneis, Software Engineer
Peter Kerzum, Swe / Sre
Andrea Kilpatrick, Software Engineer
Zu Kim, Software Engineer
Alex Kim, Software Engineer
Nathan Kiner, Product Analyst
Hunter King, Security Engineer
Shahms King, Senior Software Engineer
Jamie Kinney, Cloud Solutions Architect
Eugene Kirpichov, Staff Software Engineer
Sergey Kishchenko, Senior Software Engineer
Kathi R. Kitner, Staff UXR/Anthropologist 
Kasey Klimes, UX Researcher
Irene Knapp, Software Engineer
Kenneth Knowles, Software Engineer
Thomas Koch, Technical Solutions Engineer
Greg Kochanski, Staff Software Engineer
Hanna Kollo, Software Engineer
Kris Kooi, Software Engineer
Marcin Kowalczyk, Software Engineer
Monica Kozbial, Software Engineer
Gabe Krabbe, Senior Site Reliability Engineer
Thomas Kreeger, Systems Administrator
Jeff Kreer, Site Reliability Engineer
Natarajan Krishnaswami, Senior Software Engineer
Ryuho Kudo, Test Engineer
Mikhail Kulemin, Site Reliability Engineer
Matthew Kulukundis, Staff Software Engineer
Vineet Kumar, Senior Software Engineer
Jeremy Kun, Software Engineer
Yuri Kunde Schlesner, Software Engineer, Site Reliability Engineering
Adrien Kunysz, Systems Engineer
Aysha Kureishi, Program Manager
Victoria Lai, Analytical lead
Thomas Langevin, Program Manager
Aimee Langmaid, Senior Site Reliability Engineer
Pierre-François Laquerre, Senior Software Engineer
Marcos Lara-Reinhold, Senior Software Engineer
Robin Lassonde, Software Engineer
Sage LaTorra, Senior Test Engineer
Jukka Laurila, Site Reliablity Engineer
Tristan Lawrence, Site Reliability Engineer
Reuven Lazarus, Software Engineer
Antoine Leblanc, Site Reliability Engineer
Alice Lemieux, Software Engineer
Jonathan Lepage, Software Engineer
Jack Ley, Site Reliability Engineer
Tom Li, Software Engineer
John Li, Software Engineer
Joshua Liebow-Feeser, Software Engineer
Samuel Lijin, Software Engineer, Tools and Infrastructure
Lu Liu, Software Engineer
Miguel Lourenco, Senior Software Engineer
Christopher Lu, Software Engineer
John Lunney, Site Reliability Manager
Viet-Tam Luu, Senior Software Engineer
Matt Mager, Strategic Engagement Lead
Mohammad Mahdian, Senior Staff Research Scientist
Emily Maier, Site Reliability Engineer
Riley Mancuso, Software Engineer, Tools & Infrastructure
Jake Marcus, Senior Software Engineer
Brian Marete, Site Reliability Engineer
Orion Martin, Software Engineer Tools and Infrastructure
Michael Martin, Software Engineer
Robin Martinjak, Site Reliability Engineer
Kristen Marventano, Software Engineer
David Masover, Site Reliability Engineer
Geoff Matters, Software Engineer
Michael Mattiacci, Software Engineer
Brian McBarron, Software Engineer
Ted McCarthy, User Researcher
Jason McGibbon, Software Engineer
Colin McMillen, Staff Software Engineer
Miguel Mendez, Site Reliability Engineer
Kwasi Mensah, Software Engineer
Alice Merrick, UX Researcher
Emily Metcalfe, Security Engineer
Remoun Metyas, Software Engineer
Henning Meyer, Senior Site Reliability Engineer
Dean Michael Berris, Senior Software Engineer
Robert L Miller, Software Engineer
Damien Miller, Staff Information Security Engineer
Cliff Miller, Senior Software Engineer
Peter Milley, Software Engineer
Bryan C. Mills, Senior Software Engineer
Phillips Mitchell, Vendor Manager
Dominic Mitchell, Software Engineer in Tools & Infrastructure
Jessa Mittleman, Staff Software Engineer
Laura Mo, Software Engineer
Steven Monacelli, Program Manager
David Morell, Staff Software Engineer
Sven Mueller, Site Reliability Engineer
Cristina Munoz, Software Engineer
Bert Muthalaly, Software Engineer
Aditi Nagaraj, Software Engineer
Dhananjay Nakrani, Software Engineer
Dan Nanas, Program Manager
Max Nash, Software Engineer
Maajid Nazrulla, Software Engineer
Christopher Neffshade, Data Scientist
John Nesky, Software Engineer
Rob Neuhaus, Software Engineer
Stephen Ng, Software Engineer, Tools and Infrastructure
Ned Nguyen, Staff Software Engineer
Jesse Nichols, Analyst
Chris Niekel, Site Reliability Engineer
Ben Niemann, Site Reliability Engineer
André Nogueira, Software Engineer
Mike Nonemacher, Staff Software Engineer
Peter Nuttall, Site Reliability Engineer
Joshua O’Madadhain, Senior Software Engineer
Robert Obryk, Software Engineer
Andrew Olsen, Senior Software Engineer
John Olson, Software Engineering Manager
Kjetil Ørbekk, Senior Software Engineer
Ayla Ounce, Site Reliability Engineer
Chris Palmer, Staff Software Engineer
John Panzer, Software Engineer
Stephanie Parker, Policy Specialist
Kathrin Paschen, Staff Software Engineer
Vanja Pejovic, Software Engineer
Matias Pelenur, Staff Software Engineer
Christian Pellegrin, Site Reliability Engineer
Paul Pendlebury, Software Engineer
John Phillpot, Site Reliability Engineer
Livia Pinera, Software Engineer
David Pizzuto, Software Engineer, Tools and Infrastructure
Anthony Polito, Software Engineer
Ian Post, Software Engineer
Michael Powell, Software Engineer
Joshua Pratt, Software Engineer
Alessandro Preite Martinez, Site Reliability Engineer
Xavid Pretzer, Staff Software Engineer
Vikas Pydah, Software Engineer
Dante Qin, Corporate Operations Engineer
David Quinn, Data Scientist
Sverre Rabbelier, Senior Software Engineer
Kaushik Ramajayam, Software Engineer
Jesper Ramsgaard, UX researcher
Burton Rast, UX Design Lead
Jacob Ratkiewicz, Staff Software Engineer
Juliano Ravasi, Senior Software Engineer
Graham Reed, Site Reliability Engineer
Connor Regan, Product Marketing Manager, Hardware
Tom Renn, Software Engineer
Colin Rice, Software Engineer
Joe Richey, Software Engineer
Owen Rodley, Software Engineer
Jacqueline Rogoff, Software Engineer Tools and Infrastructure
Geoffrey Romer, Software Engineer
Natasha Ross, Executive Business Partner
Robert Rossney, Software Engineer
Thomas Rybka, Software Engineer
Michael Safyan, Senior Software Engineer
Yuzu Saijo, Software Engineer
Eric Salo, Software Engineer
Nithya Sambasivan, UX researcher
Mike Samuel, Staff Software Engineer
Sheldon Sandbekkhaug, Software Engineer
Michael K. Sanders, Senior Software Engineer
Aprotim Sanyal, Site Reliability Engineer
Michael Saunders, Product Manager
Jesse Scherer, Technical Program Manager
Christopher Schmidt, Senior Software Engineer
Mark Schmit, Staff Software Engineer
Tim Schuster, Data Analyst
Erty Seidohl, Software Engineer
Yash Sekhon, Software Engineer
Alexey Semenko, Software Engineer
Ali Shah, Staff Software Engineer
Thomas Sharp, Software Engineer
Adam Shaw, Site Reliability Engineer
Kimos Shehata, Software Engineer
Martin Shelton, UX Researcher
Andrew Sherman, Software Engineer
Michael Sherman, Machine Learning Engineer
Michael Shields, Software Engineer
Matthew Siegler, Senior Software Engineer
Piotr Sieklucki, Site Reliability Engineer
Daniel Simmons-Marengo, Software Engineer
Justin Simon, Software Engineer
Austin Sims, Software Engineer
Joëlle Skaf, Staff Software Engineer
Ryan Sleevi, Software Engineer
Jake Small, Software Engineer
Sophie Smithburg, Site Reliability Engineer
Sara Smollett, Site Reliability Engineer
Shawn Smout, Software Engineer
Jacob Smullyan, Senior Software Engineer
Derek Snyder, Software Engineer
Elijah Soria, Software Engineer
Matthew Sperry, Software Engineer
Kyle Spiers, Security Engineer
Venkatesh Srinivas, Software Engineer
Kevin Stadmeyer, Senior Technical Program Manager
Joshua Steadmon, Software Engineer
Andrew Stebbins, Software Engineer
Greg Steuck, Software Engineer
Ben Stewart, Staff Software Engineer
Alec Story, Senior Software Engineer
Stevie Strickland, Software Engineer
Murali Suriar, Site Reliability Engineer
Noah Swartz, Privacy Engineer
Brian Swetland, Senior Staff Software Engineer
Huseyin Tasbent, Account Manager
Mohammad Tayseer, Software Engineer
Christian Ternus, Senior Software Engineer
Jennifer Thakar, Software Engineer
Nat Thompson, Software Engineer
Daniel Thornburgh, Software Engineer in Tools and Infrastructure
Arthur Tilley, Software Engineer
Finbarr Timbers, Research Engineer
Spencer Tofts, Software Engineer
Anton Tolchanov, Site Reliability Engineer
Valentin Tolmer, Software Engineer
Jonathan Tomer, Software Engineer
Omer Torok, Account Manager
Taylor Trimble, Software Engineer
Seth Troisi, Software Engineer
Philip Tucker, Software Engineer
Zora Tung, Software Engineer
David Turner, Staff Software Engineer
Jakub Turski, Site Reliability Engineer
Svyatoslav Usachev, Software Engineer
Rose Valle, Software Engineer
Filippo Valsorda, Senior Software Engineer
Jan Van Bruggen, Software Engineer
JC van Winkel, Site Reliability Engineer
Andrei Vancea, Senior Software Engineer
Arne Vansteenkiste, Site Reliability Engineer
Pascal Varet, Site Reliability Engineer
Sandeep Vijayasekar, Software Engineer
Nicholas Vining, Sr. Software Engineer
Salim Virji, Site Reliability Engineer
Adam Vollmer, Software Engineer
Joel Votaw, Software Engineer
Chris Wagner, Software Engineer
Ryan Waldman, Software Engineer
Rachel Walker, User Experience Researcher
Adrienne Walker, Staff Software Engineer
David Walker, Software Engineer
Shawn Wallace, Engineering Manager
Ann Wallace, Cloud Security Consultant
Jazbel Wang, Software Engineer
Paul Wankadia, Systems Engineer
Peter Ward, Site Reliability Engineer
Aaron Ward, UX Engineer
Michael Weatherford, Test Engineer
Dave Weinstein, Software Engineering Manager
Chris Weisiger, Software Engineer
Natalie Weizenbaum, Software Engineer
Remy Welch, Cloud Customer Engineer
Guillaume Wenzek, Software Engineer
Drew Weymouth, Software Engineer
Colin Whitmarsh, Software Engineer
Meredith Whittaker, Google Open Research Lead
Rachel Wiens, Software Engineer
Kimberly Wilber, Software Engineer
Jamie Wilkinson, Senior Site Reliability Engineer
Lori Williams, Software Engineer
Nathan J. Williams, Senior Software Engineer
Jon Wilson, Site Reliability Engineer
Collin Winter, Software Engineer
Titus Winters, Software Engineer
Ryan Wolf, Senior Software Engineer
Benjamin Wolf, Senior Software Engineer
Mark Womack, Staff Software Engineer
James Woodyatt, Software Engineer
David Worsham, Senior Software Engineer
Edmund Wright, Software Engineer
Huajie Wu, Software Engineer, Tools and Infrastructure
Juerg Wullschleger, Software Engineer
Kuo-Hsin Yang, Software Engineer
Justin Yao, Senior Technical Solutions Engineer
Jeffrey Yasskin, Senior Software Engineer
D. L. Yonge-Mallo, Software Engineer
Tony Young, Senior Software Engineer
Tariq Yusuf, Privacy Software Engineer
Joel Zacharias, Senior Software Engineer
Alexandre Zani, Software Engineer
Susanna Zaraysky, Content Strategist, Material Design
Daria Zenkova, Site Reliability Engineer
Zengjun Zhang, Technical Program Manager
Jean Zheng, Senior Staff Technology Manager
Bonnie Zhou, Software Engineer
Augustin Zidek, Research Engineer
Jeremy Zimmer, Technical Program Manager
Miriam Zimmerman, Software Engineer

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