Emails Show Google, White House Relationship In Matters Of Policy
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, August 10, 2016
More than 1,500 emails between the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Google employees show the relationship between the two entities and the extent to which the Mountain View, California company and its employees interact with the government.
Documents shared with The Verge by the nonprofit group Campaign for Accountability obtained through the Freedom of Information Act serve as a resource to show how Google maneuvered the relationships when facing a fight.
“Nothing in the documents suggests improper behavior, per the report, but rather provides a “window into “Google’s high-level work on policy matters, and provide a case study on how deep the company’s lobbying efforts go.”
One email to Salar Kamangar from R. David Edelman, senior advisor for Internet Policy at The White House, thanks the former YouTube CEO for his time and apologizes for “the extra time at the gate.”
“I want to specifically note that OSTP would be delighted to work with you on ways in which online video could help advance Presidential priorities, such as STEM education, Grand Challenges, and high-speed networking,” Edelman wrote.
While the emails provide insight into the daily banter, the more important topics within the emails provide a trail for the persuasive campaign that began in 2012, when Google identified a threat to the openness of the Internet, as thousands of representatives met at the World Conference on International Telecommunications to consider a proposed revision of the International Telecommunication Regulations, which govern how communication services are used worldwide.
A vote at the conference would determine whether to regulate more of the Internet. The US government and Google had a “seat at the table,” which sent private industry delegates to the conference to advise the U.S.
The Verge did an interesting job mapping out the events through the emails that led Google to ultimately continue to “ring the alarm bells” that showed the government wanted to increase regulations and censorship of the Internet.
MediaPost.com: Search Marketing Daily
(6)
