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

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/