In an email to employees today, Sundar Pichai condemned the extremism in Charlottesville and spoke out against the terrorism that took place in Barcelona only a few hours ago. In response to the more recent event, Google activated its SOS Alert feature, while Pichai made note that Googlers in Spain are safe today.
Pichai opened with the events of Charlottesville, Virginia this past weekend where he stated that there is “no place for this type of extremism in America.” Noting that the company stands “united in condemnation,” Google earlier canceled the registration of a white nationalist site from its domain service, while a YouTube account was similarly terminated.
Turning to the terrorist attacking in Barcelona, Google activated its new SOS Alert feature in Search and Maps to provide local news and other announcements for people in the Spanish city. Pichai went on to say that “Terrorism is terrorism and it makes many forms.”
Google’s internal security terms were able to help several employees on the ground find safety and Pichai fortunately noted that “everyone we’ve heard from so far is safe.” The CEO further asks Googlers in Barcelona or those aware of employees in the city to contact their security team.
Pichai also highlighted the terrorist attack in Burkina Faso that last week that did not pick up as much attention, and closed on this message:
“Terrorism is designed to divide us. The challenge and best response is to speak out, to give hatred no place to fester, and to unite around the values we share. It’s often hard for people to find common ground and to work out the best ways to counter the swelling tide of hatred and terrorism. But history has shown we must try.”
Charlottesville and Barcelona show the devastating consequences of hatred and extremism. Our thoughts are with the victims. pic.twitter.com/AMGhcWYi8e
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) August 17, 2017
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