Communist Democrats Push 'Racial Equity Audits' To Cement Control of Tech Companies

[Happy New Year]

Audits call for abolition of standards of 'merit'

Democrats want to subject tech companies to mandatory "racial equity
audits" conducted by their political allies, a move which could
cement the party's control of Silicon Valley.

A small group of organizations with close ties to Democratic
politicians and progressive donors conducts the majority of these
audits, which advocates say are needed to promote racial justice.
But in practice, equity auditors often push companies to hire more
left-wing activists and former Democratic party officials, often
from the auditing organizations themselves. The audits also call for
the abolition of standards of "merit" and the ability for a special
executive to veto any company project.

Racial equity audits are the chief service offered by "diversity,
equity, and inclusion" consultants, a cottage industry connected by
a revolving door of Democratic staffers and funded by liberal
donors. Equity auditors have made a killing from school districts
that pay handsomely for consultants to revamp curricula, the
Washington Free Beacon has reported. Now, racial equity auditors are
setting their sights on corporate America.

Democratic officials have called for audits of major companies. One
proposal from House Democrats would fine companies $20,000 a day for
not completing biennial, independent "racial equity audits." In
June, five Democratic senators called on Google parent company
Alphabet to conduct an audit. The Democratic letter cited Color of
Change, a left-wing nonprofit pushing for audits.

Last week, Color of Change president Rashad Robinson was invited to
testify to Congress and called for "independent auditors" to vet new
products from tech companies before they’re released. Robinson did
not mention that the "independent auditors" are closely affiliated
with Color of Change.

In that hearing, Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.) said Alphabet should
"work with civil rights groups who have developed a framework to
guide tech companies on how to conduct racial equity audits."

Booker's call appears to be a veiled reference to Color of Change,
which released a "tech framework" explaining how companies should
conduct audits. The framework calls for the destruction of an
"objective definition of merit" in order to "attract Black talent."
It also requires that every tech company employ an executive with
power to veto any product they believe has a disparate effect on
black users. Among other powers, the executive should have "hiring
and firing power, power over promotions, and power over the flow of
people, product, and money."

Color of Change also calls on tech companies to evaluate every
employee in "anti-discrimination accountability systems" in
performance reviews. According to Color of Change, tech companies
should be required to avoid the use of any dataset that "is the
product of real-world prejudice or further perpetuates
discrimination," a vague definition that could be used to shut down
almost any machine-learning research.

Beyond "hiring underrepresented groups," says Color of Change,
organizations need to increase the "awareness" of all employees
through "comprehensive racial justice trainings and initiatives."
These trainings from outside groups will create "a critical mass of
employees that are aware of the origins and effects of white
supremacy and anti-Blackness across all vertical and horizontal work
streams."

Color of Change has already succeeded in using racial equity audits
to shape big tech policy. In 2018, it successfully pushed Facebook
into completing an audit that called for more restrictions on
Trump's posts. Color of Change itself pushed for Trump to be
permanently banned from the platform. After the audit was released,
Facebook hired an Obama administration Justice Department official
to lead the company's civil rights strategy.

The audits fit within a broader push from Biden administration
officials to promote racial justice goals in government policy. The
Securities and Exchange Commission is pushing companies to include
audit proposals from shareholders in their proxy statements. Federal
Trade Commissioner Kelly Slaughter has argued her department has a
mandate to tackle "structural and systemic racism."

Democratic officials and lawmakers have close personal and
professional relationships with activist auditors. Laura Murphy, who
pioneered corporate racial equity audits, was invited to conduct her
first audit in 2016 by Vanita Gupta, a close friend who now serves
as associate attorney general.

Before joining the Biden Justice Department, Gupta led the
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a nonprofit that
has called for tech companies to "reduce online activities and
disinformation" that harm minority groups. The conference
commissioned a report by Murphy on "Key Elements of a Civil Rights
Audit." That report received input from powerful liberal groups,
including the ACLU, Color of Change, Human Rights Campaign, NAACP,
SEIU, and Voto Latino.

Color of Change is one of the most prominent members of Democracy
Alliance, a network largely funded by Democratic megadonor George
Soros. It also partners with two other Soros-funded groups, SOC
Investment Group and the SEIU, to pressure public companies to
comply with audits.

Supporters say racial equity audits are also good for business. Ford
Foundation president Darren Walker claims audits can help "the
nation’s most successful businesses to become better businesses,"
and that implementing the recommendations of audits could increase
the United States' GDP by up to 20 percent.

The pressure campaigns on major companies have already paid off.
Airbnb, Facebook, and Starbucks all conducted audits in the last
three years. BlackRock is conducting one, and Citi announced its
commitment to "becoming an antiracist institution" and retained
Covington & Burling for a racial equity audit after pressure from
SOC Investment Group. And Amazon and Facebook have already hired
former Democratic officials for senior roles.


https://freebeacon.com/democrats/democrats-push-racial-equity-
audits-to-cement-control-of-tech-companies/