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   From: nobody@yamn.paranoici.org   
      
   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.   
      
      
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