Businesses announce big-dollar initiatives to promote racial justice in wake of George Floyd’s killing
Businesses ranging from tech titans Apple Inc. and Google to toy maker Hasbro Inc. announced new measures and big-dollar initiatives to promote racial justice, as company leaders race to show their commitment to change amid the national outcry stemming from George Floyd’s killing.
Apple said Thursday it would devote $100 million to a racial-justice initiative that aims to invest in education, economic equality and criminal-justice reform with a goal of increasing opportunities for people of color.
A couple of hours later, Susan Wojcicki, chief executive of the YouTube arm of Alphabet Inc.’s Google, said the video platform would create a $100 million fund aimed at amplifying content from black creators, in addition to highlighting racial justice issues through its official channel.
Microsoft Corp. said it won’t sell facial-recognition technology to U.S. police until there is a national law regulating its use, echoing similar commitments from Amazon.com Inc. and International Business Machines Corp. made this week. The trio of technology companies have called for clearer federal rules around the surveillance technology amid widespread concern about its potential for racial bias.
Bowdeya Tweh, Patrick Thomas, Sebastian Herrera – The Wall Street Journal – June 12, 2020.
