Increase Transparency
Evaluate Products for Discrimination
Recruit, Hire, and Support a Diverse Workforce
Hire and Empower Internal Civil Rights Staff
Hold Internal Decision Makers Accountable
Divest from Police and Mass Incarceration
The Background
Many tech corporations made public remarks that touted their solidarity with Black people and recognized the need for racial justice
However, remarks without actions to accompany them are meaningless. It is crucial that tech companies across the sector address discrimination in their businesses. The efforts outlined below represent concrete actions technology firms must take, at minimum, to act in alignment with their values and ensure a more humane and less hostile world for Black people.
Increase Transparency
Increased transparency in the form of algotithmic and platform bias assessments, audits, and publicly shared anti-discrimination efforts and procedures is critical in the elimination of discriminatory features of products. Audits provide the general public with knowledge of where a company stands regarding the diversity of its staff, whereas algorithmic and platform bias assessments make tech executives and employees aware of any discriminatory product features. More importantly, these audits provide executives with the knowledge necessary to precisely determine where in the product development process discrimination manifests. This knowledge aids executives in strategically addressing and eliminating discrimination within their organization and from their products.
Evaluate Products for Discrimination
All tech products must be tested and evaluated for discriminatory impact and threat to civil rights. These assessments will ensure that products developed will be created with intentionality and with thoughtful consideration given to the experience of Black users.
Recommendation 2a Evaluate policies, product(s), and data used to develop product(s) for discriminationAll policies and technological products must be evaluated for discrimination and civil rights violations regarding the experiences of and impact(s) on users. Ethical tech experts must lead the creation of these evaluations, and their expertise must include specific pillars regarding racial discrimination. Furthermore, during all phases of the product development process, technologists must prioritize and adhere to civil rights and nondiscrimination standards prior to the product being publicly released. These evaluations must also apply to the data used to make product decisions because data is often a reflection of the discrimination that occurs in the real world. If the data being used is the product of real-world prejudice or further perpetuates discrimination, said data should not be used to develop any technological products. All internal research about technological products and the policies that govern them must be prioritized and shared in its entirety, regardless of the conclusions, in an effort to make nondiscriminatory tech a reality.
Recommendation 2b
Create systems that allow users to share feedback, and ensure that feedback is shared openly and transparentlyAny firm that genuinely values and prioritizes racial equity and civil rights will solicit feedback from and listen to product users. Product feedback from a diverse range of stakeholders will ensure that tech firms adjust their products to prevent the metastasization of any blindspots. This makes user feedback critical. There will inevitably be instances where a firm’s staff will not realize the discriminatory impact of a product feature or the harm it has caused, so the creation of user feedback systems will prove beyond valuable. When users give feedback, firms also have a responsibility to reply. These responses demonstrate that a firm is concerned with and listens to user feedback. Furthermore, firms must also inform users beforehand as to how feedback will be used and implemented, so users know the time they spend giving constructive feedback is seriously considered and acted upon.
Recruit, Hire, and Support a Diverse Workforce
Tech firms must make concerted efforts to remedy existing racial disparities within their own workforces. A racially diverse and aware workforce is crucial in the production and implementation of racially just tech products. When there is a critical mass of employees that are aware of the origins and impacts of white supremacy and anti-Blackness across all vertical and horizontal work streams, a shift in culture is possible. Thus, it is imperative that tech firms put resources behind hiring underrepresented groups and increasing the awareness of all its employees through comprehensive racial justice trainings and initiatives.
Recommendation 3d
Treat workers essential to business functions as employees Many tech platforms depend on contractors for their businesses to function, yet too many of these tech firms treat contractors as disposable commodities. A firm’s commitment to racial justice is inadequate without improved working conditions, benefits, and pay for contractors since Black contractors represent a greater share of the tech ecosystem than Black full-time employees.
Contracted workers do not receive the same benefits and protections as official company employees. Hiring contractors as employees would allow these essential workers to collect unemployment insurance, take sick and family leave, and unionize for labor protections. These protections safeguard employees from hardships, especially during the current worldwide pandemic. These contracted employees, whether they be content moderators or rideshare drivers, are essential to the business function of tech firms and must be treated as such. Contractors deserve to be treated with dignity and respect for the critical work they do.
Hire and Empower Internal Civil Rights Staff
Tech and Silicon Valley in particular have a culture that rewards “moving fast and breaking things.” Moving fast and breaking things should never cost Black people their humanity or liberty. This culture needs to be reversed so that the products developed do not further harm Black users but, rather, act as tools that foster racial equity.
Hold Internal Decision Makers Accountable
Racial justice programming alone will not curb the implicit or explicit biases of tech product developers and executives. Protocols must be in place that hold software developers, engineers, and executives accountable for any products that result in discrimination regardless of their intent, and plans of action to repair harm must be implemented and enforced. The impact of discriminatory products on the lived experiences of Black people far outweighs the intent or remorse of any developer or executive.
Divest from Police and Mass Incarceration
Tech firms must not use technological innovation and their economic power to prop up local police departments and other authorities who threaten and exploit Black lives or promote anti-Black practices. Instead, where tech firms possess or can build the power to do so, they should advocate for alternatives and reinvestment in Black communities.
Recommendation 6a
Terminate partnerships with law enforcement agencies that advance the use of surveillance tech, inclusive of predictive policingLaw enforcement agencies use surveillance tech to police Black communities with fewer consequences for themselves while those they police still suffer the same harmful outcomes. Tech firms that create and/or sell surveillance tech are complicit in the harms Black communities face since these technologies replicate the biases deeply embedded in the world around us while moving those directly responsible for harm further away from blame. Creating ethical tech alone will not solve this problem when there are people with bias who develop this tech and law enforcement agents—whether they be state, local, or federal—who weaponize this tech to further traumatize the most marginalized communities.
Recommendation 6b
Implement a business model that divests from police and mass incarceration, especially regarding financial investments and laborAny racially just and equitable tech firms must make business decisions that affirm decarceration and community safety. Business acquisitions, financial investments, and labor decisions that sustain the prison-industrial complex and further the surveillance of Black communities pose an immediate threat to the well-being and safety of Black people. A tech firm that believes in racial equity must not use prison labor, invest in private equity or mutual funds whose profit margins depend on imprisonment, or acquire carceral industry or surveillance firms. Instead, tech firms should prioritize and invest in ethical financial and labor investments in addition to acquisitions separate from the prison-industrial complex.
Recommendation 6c
End support of police foundations and financing of law enforcement nonprofitsTech firms must cancel all current and future sponsorship deals with police foundations or law enforcement nonprofits, including event partnerships, participation in galas or fundraisers, and in-kind donations of money, employee matching funds, equipment, software, data, or tech. Furthermore, current employees—at all levels—who sit on a police foundation’s board should immediately step down from those boards. Future employees should be banned from representing their employers on any police foundation board or in any law enforcement nonprofit organization.
Recommendation 6d
Invest in the safety of Black communitiesWhere tech firms can use their voice, they must keep up the pressure on local governments to reduce spending on police and prisons, to adopt transformative changes in the criminal legal system, and to shift investments to Black communities.
What We Do
We build power for Black users of tech platforms through the promotion of civil rights policies and product assessments. We work to raise industry standards around hiring and retention, resulting in a more humane and less hostile internet and world for Black people, more [respect] for Black creatives, more diversity in corporate offices, and real accountability when tech companies cross the line.
We collaborate with product managers, data scientists, and executives to ensure that tech products do not discriminate against users. We advise on projects at any point in the development process—briefing executives on issues like algorithmic accountability, mis- and disinformation, and the content creating power of Black creatives, to name a few; collaborating on product assessments; advising on policies that promote racially just products and workspaces. We’ve worked with Airbnb on assessments like Project Lighthouse.
Too often, what we see online reinforces dangerous stereotypes of Black people. Our Campaigns Team holds companies accountable for policies, products, and procedures that further perpetuate racism and harm to Black people. We moved Twitter to “Kick Trump Off Twitter” for four years, long before he summoned white nationalists to attack the Capitol. We persuaded Zoom to hire a Chief Diversity Officer after countless Zoom bombings where uninvited guests harassed Black users. We successfully led a campaign to get Facebook to commit to a Civil Rights Audit after allowing life-threatening content and calls to action to proliferate on their platform. We also got Stripe and other payment processors to stop funneling money to the Proud Boys, the white nationalist group Donald Trump refused to condemn during a presidential debate, for their interstate travel, tactical gear, and legal expenses.
Color Of Change partners with industry leading organizations, corporations, and thought leaders to ensure that racial justice and equity is fully integrated into technology firms’ business models and operations. We advise technology companies to conduct racial equity audits as a means to create and maintain racially equitable products, policies, procedures, and workplaces. These audits compel corporations to develop appropriate and impactful key performance indicators, metrics, objectives, and outcomes in an effort to achieve racial equity. Organizations and thought leaders with deep expertise in different streams of the technology industry inform our #BeyondTheStatementTech Framework and Color Of Racial Equity Audits so firms can effectively design racially just tech products and workplaces given the personal knowledge of the industry that our thought leader and organizational partners have. Their platforms also allow us to amplify the #BeyondTheStatementTech framework and racial equity audit so that both technology firms and their users are aware of its existence as a powerful resource to make justice real.
Previous partnerships include Project Lighthouse with Airbnb, an innovative program designed to research racial discrimination on its platform in efforts to remove its every trace, after it conducted a racial equity audit. We also advised Facebook, one of the most profitable social media conglomerates, to hire a Vice President of Civil Rights during its racial equity auditing. During the Facebook and Airbnb audits, Color Of Change engaged with their external auditing teams throughout the process to ensure as robust of an outcome as possible. We urged these corporations to act in alignment with racial justice because it would be in the best interests of their users and bottom line due to product flaws and a changing market landscape that increasingly prioritizes racial justice and equity. These efforts demonstrate an industry pivot where racial justice is an integral part of their business operations.
If interested in learning more about Color Of Change partnerships or how Color Of Change can partner with your corporation or organization, please fill out this form.
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What We Do
We build power for Black users of tech platforms through the promotion of civil rights policies and product assessments. We work to raise industry standards around hiring and retention, resulting in a more humane and less hostile internet and world for Black people, more [respect] for Black creatives, more diversity in corporate offices, and real accountability when tech companies cross the line.
We collaborate with product managers, data scientists, and executives to ensure that tech products do not discriminate against users. We advise on projects at any point in the development process—briefing executives on issues like algorithmic accountability, mis- and disinformation, and the content creating power of Black creatives, to name a few; collaborating on product assessments; advising on policies that promote racially just products and workspaces. We’ve worked with Airbnb on assessments like Project Lighthouse.
Too often, what we see online reinforces dangerous stereotypes of Black people. Our Campaigns Team holds companies accountable for policies, products, and procedures that further perpetuate racism and harm to Black people. We moved Twitter to “Kick Trump Off Twitter” for four years, long before he summoned white nationalists to attack the Capitol. We persuaded Zoom to hire a Chief Diversity Officer after countless Zoom bombings where uninvited guests harassed Black users. We successfully led a campaign to get Facebook to commit to a Civil Rights Audit after allowing life-threatening content and calls to action to proliferate on their platform. We also got Stripe and other payment processors to stop funneling money to the Proud Boys, the white nationalist group Donald Trump refused to condemn during a presidential debate, for their interstate travel, tactical gear, and legal expenses.
Color Of Change partners with industry leading organizations, corporations, and thought leaders to ensure that racial justice and equity is fully integrated into technology firms’ business models and operations. We advise technology companies to conduct racial equity audits as a means to create and maintain racially equitable products, policies, procedures, and workplaces. These audits compel corporations to develop appropriate and impactful key performance indicators, metrics, objectives, and outcomes in an effort to achieve racial equity. Organizations and thought leaders with deep expertise in different streams of the technology industry inform our #BeyondTheStatementTech Framework and Color Of Racial Equity Audits so firms can effectively design racially just tech products and workplaces given the personal knowledge of the industry that our thought leader and organizational partners have. Their platforms also allow us to amplify the #BeyondTheStatementTech framework and racial equity audit so that both technology firms and their users are aware of its existence as a powerful resource to make justice real.
Previous partnerships include Project Lighthouse with Airbnb, an innovative program designed to research racial discrimination on its platform in efforts to remove its every trace, after it conducted a racial equity audit. We also advised Facebook, one of the most profitable social media conglomerates, to hire a Vice President of Civil Rights during its racial equity auditing. During the Facebook and Airbnb audits, Color Of Change engaged with their external auditing teams throughout the process to ensure as robust of an outcome as possible. We urged these corporations to act in alignment with racial justice because it would be in the best interests of their users and bottom line due to product flaws and a changing market landscape that increasingly prioritizes racial justice and equity. These efforts demonstrate an industry pivot where racial justice is an integral part of their business operations.
If interested in learning more about Color Of Change partnerships or how Color Of Change can partner with your corporation or organization, please fill out this form.
