Sen. Booker, Dem lawmakers urge Google to conduct ‘racial equity audit’ to make product safer for Black people

Sen. Cory Booker is calling on Google’s parent company to conduct a “racial equity audit” that he says is necessary to identify “harmful” racial bias baked into the technology of its products.

Booker, along with four other Democrats, sent a letter this week to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and other YouTube and Google executives calling on the company to use the investigation to root out discrimination against Black people in any of its hiring practices, algorithms and product launches.

“We are concerned, after hearing reports about your company and its products, about harmful bias at Alphabet,” the senators wrote in a letter dated June 1, 2021, to the tech giant.

“[W]e urge Alphabet to conduct a racial equity audit and to use the investigation and recommendations to make the company and its products safer for Black people,” the senators added.

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Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday from Fox Business on whether it would conduct such an audit.

Booker was joined in the request by fellow Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Mark Warner of Virginia, Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.

The senators raise concerns about racial bias within Alphabet’s products and perpetuating stereotypes and discrimination against people of color.

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The senators cite several examples, including Google’s Cloud Vision image recognition tool that reportedly labeled images of a thermometer held by light-skinned people as an “electronic device” while labeling them as a “gun” when held by dark-skinned people, the senators write. Another Google dermatology diagnosis app was not trained on dark skin tones, the senators said.

And Google searches themselves produce results that promote negative stereotypes and exclude Black people from seeing ads for housing, employment and education while showing only predatory opportunities, the Democrats said.

“Google Search, its ad algorithm, and YouTube have all been found to perpetuate racist stereotypes and white nationalist viewpoints,” the senators wrote.

The senators encouraged Alphabet to work with an outside and independent auditing team with civil rights and legal expertise to begin the intervention work.

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“A racial equity audit is long overdue,” the senators said.