Tech Giants Run Silent as Discrimination Charges Shake Up Southern Poverty Law Center
Leading technology and social media companies that have partnered with the Southern Poverty Law Center either are distancing themselves from the controversial organization or declining to comment about their relationship with the nonprofit in light of a recent shake-up at the top.
Of five tech giants contacted by The Daily Signal regarding their ties, only Facebook and Twitter responded.
Morris Dees, a lawyer who co-founded the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center in 1971, was dismissed last month amid allegations of sexual harassment and racial discrimination.
Then, Richard Cohen, president of SPLC since 2003, announced that he would step down, citing “recent events.”
“Whatever problems exist at the SPLC happened on my watch, so I take responsibility for them,” Cohen wrote in an email to staff, The New York Times reported.
A former employee, Bob Moser, recently authored a piece in The New Yorker describing SPLC’s business practices as “a highly profitable scam.”
Social media juggernauts Facebook and Twitter and tech giants Google (which owns YouTube) and Amazon (which owns Audible and IMDB.com) are among major players that have partnered with SPLC to root out “hate speech” on their platforms, according to media reports. Apple also has strong ties to SPLC.
The …read more