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According to an internal leaked memo, Google employees have been warned against protesting YouTube’s LGBTQ+ policies during the pride events as it violates the company’s policy, as reported by Bloomberg.
As per the memo, anyone who participates in the Pride parade as a representative of Google while voicing protests against YouTube’s LGBTQ+ policies will be in direct violation of Google’s code of conduct. The drama started when one of Google’s LGBTQ groups, Gayglers listserv exchanged emails with the company’s global LGBTQ+ community and decided to show visible demonstration against the company’s policy regarding LGBTQ+ by wearing shirts which displayed signs for the petition to remove Google’s float. Google categorically denied this and released an email to all of its employees which said:
“Employees are free to make whatever statement they want personally, apart from our corporate sponsored float/contingent. But they are not permitted to leverage our platform to express a message contradictory to the one Google is expressing.”
Today, @Google told employees that while marching in the Google contingent in the @SFPride parade any protest against @YouTube‘s current policies,interpretation of policies,and so forth would be considered a violation of Googles Communications policy #NoPrideInYT @EthicalGooglers
— Rebecca (@Tri_Becca90) June 24, 2019
Recently Google and YouTube have come under fire for not removing the video of a conservative YouTube personality who was insulting a gay journalist, Carlos Maza for the choice of his gender. Things became a PR nightmare for Google as soon as other activists started joining Carlos Maza and criticized YouTube’s actions for not taking down the video.
YouTube’s CEO, Susan Wojcicki in reply to this apologized on behalf of the company but said that that video will not be reviewed from its video-streaming platform as it goes against the freedom of speech.
“I know that the decisions we made was very hurtful to the LGBTQ community and that wasn’t our intention at all. That was not our intention, and we were really sorry about that, and I do want to explain why we made the decision we did.” Wojcicki said at the Code Conference in Scottsdale, AZ today.
