Tech Industry Practices and Products Oversight

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For companies in the tech industry, shareholders have called for greater oversight over the impacts of government and police force use of surveillance technology, specifically biometric tech, like Amazon’s Rekognition, ad targeting, dissemination of misinformation, and online threats and harassment. Research shows that “facial recognition technology often discriminates against people of color and non-binary people.” In 2018, AI ethicists Dr. Timnit Gebru and Joy Buolamwini found that “commercial facial recognition tools sold by companies such as IBM and Microsoft were 99 percent accurate at identifying White males, but only 35 percent effective with Black women.” Business practices in the targeting of advertising, such as algorithmic grouping,  have the potential to enable racism and discrimination. Algorithmic content promotion also raises concerns, with social media platforms like Meta’s Facebook and Instagram where there is evidence that their use is causing harm to teenage girls; and data collection are other issues that affect online safety for people of color.

In the 2023 season, Majority Action and SEIU are tracking the following shareholder proposals related to risk oversight of tech industry products and practices

  • Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), May 24, 2023, Shareholder Proposal Requesting a Report on Customer Due Diligence, Item 7

  • Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), May 24, 2023, Shareholder Proposal Requesting Reporting on Content and Product Removal/Restrictions, Item 8

  • Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), May 24, 2023, Shareholder Proposal Requesting a Report on Customer Use of Certain Technologies, Item 23

  • PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL), May 24, 2023, Stockholder Proposal – Reproductive Rights and Data Privacy, Item 6

  • PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL), May 24, 2023, Stockholder Proposal – PayPal Transparency Reports, Item 7

  • Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), May 31, 2023, Shareholder Proposal Regarding Human Rights Impact Assessment of Targeted Advertising, Item 5

  • Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), May 31, 2023, Shareholder Proposal Regarding Report on Allegations of Political Entanglement and Content Management Biases in India, Item 7

  • Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), May 31, 2023, Shareholder Proposal Regarding Report on Reproductive Rights and Data Privacy, Item 9

  • Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), May 31, 2023, Shareholder Proposal Regarding Report on Enforcement of Community Standards and User Content, Item 10

  • Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), May 31, 2023, Shareholder Proposal Regarding Report on Child Safety Impacts and Actual Harm Reduction to Children, Item 11

  • Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), May 31, 2023, Shareholder Proposal Regarding Report on Pay Calibration to Externalized Costs, Item 12

  • Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), May 31, 2023, Shareholder Proposal Regarding Performance Review of the Audit & Risk Oversight Committee, Item 13

  • Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL), June 2, 2023, Stockholder Proposal Regarding a Report on Reproductive Rights and Data Privacy, Item 9

  • Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL), June 2, 2023, Stockholder Proposal Regarding a Human Rights Assessment of Data Center Siting, Item 10

  • Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL), June 2, 2023, Stockholder Proposal Regarding a Human Rights Assessment of Targeted Ad Policies and Practices, Item 11

  • Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL), June 2, 2023, Stockholder Proposal Regarding Algorithm Disclosures, Item 12

  • Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL), June 2, 2023, Stockholder Proposal Regarding a Report on Alignment of YouTube Policies With Legislation, Item 13

  • Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL), June 2, 2023, Stockholder Proposal Regarding a Performance Review of the Audit and Compliance Committee, Item 15