Google blocked political posts on internal message boards ahead of Election Day: report

Core Viewpoint - Google has intensified restrictions on political discussions among employees, particularly in the lead-up to the recent election, aiming to maintain a neutral workplace environment and uphold its role as a trusted information source [1][2][5]. Group 1: Policy Implementation - Google CEO Sundar Pichai emphasized the importance of adhering to the company's "personal political activity policy" in a memo, stating the goal is to be a trusted source of information for all backgrounds and beliefs [2]. - The company had previously enacted a rule that would ban employees from political discussions after three violations of the policy [2]. - Google has been actively moderating and removing election-related posts from its internal message board, Memegen, to enforce these policies [1][4]. Group 2: Employee Reactions - Some employees expressed dissatisfaction with the political discussion restrictions, with one jokingly suggesting making Election Day a holiday to relieve the internal community management team [3]. - There were complaints from employees regarding the removal of posts they believed did not violate the political discussion ban [3]. Group 3: Historical Context - Google has faced internal discord over political issues, including the firing of dozens of employees involved in anti-Israel protests [5][6]. - The company briefly shut down Memegen in March due to employee backlash over its $1.2 billion "Project Nimbus" contract with the Israeli government [5]. - A federal labor complaint was filed by the Alphabet Workers Union, accusing Google of imposing an illegal "gag order" on discussions related to pending antitrust cases [6][7].