Login to Change.org
Use Facebook to connect with friends and mobilize your social network.
Create an Account
STOP Google Adwords from Internet Sex-trafficking of Women and Girls
SIGN THIS PETITION
-
Signatures
1,364 out of 50,000Petitioning
-
CEO Google Inc.
(+ 4 others)
Petitioning
close- CEO Google Inc. (Larry Page)
- Co-Founder/PresTechnology Google Inc. (Sergey Brin)
- SVP/Chief Business Officer Google Inc. (Nikesh Arora)
- Vice President, Public Policy and Communications (Rachel Whetstone)
- Executive Chairman Google Inc. (Eric Schmidt)
-
CEO Google Inc.
(+ 4 others)
-
WNN - Women News Network, as an award winning not-for-profit news network focusing exclusively on global women that is reaching the public and over 500 UN agencies and NGO affiliates (along with 41+ organizations working to stop human trafficking), is well aware of the global problems in the sex-trafficking of women and girls.
Because of our work through UNESCO to improve and bring greater ethics and transparency to the media in Eastern Europe we call today on Google, Inc to join the movement and to answer an urgent message sent to Google by the 'Concerned Citizens of the World' to,: "STOP all internet profits and facilitating of sexual exploitation of women and girls on the internet through the sales of online advertisements made by those who profit from this heinous crime."
Current public searches in Google can produce AdWords ads that have connections to sex tourism, adult web cams and other sex industry offerings.
We consider this to be ubiquitous and violate the spirit, if not the letter, of Google, Inc and Google AdWords' policies.
The sites linked to these advertisements show the ‘tell-tale’ signs of trafficked victims and are not mere ‘adult services’ sites which are permitted by current Google AdWords policies. By allowing these ads to “slip through the cracks,” in the words of a Google spokesperson, you are turning a blind eye to a pernicious problem that Google does have the power to stop.
When CNN ran a story about child sexual exploitation on Craigslist, the founder announced he would immediately dismantle the (U.S.) portion of his website found to be exploitative, much to the collective cheers of the advocacy community. Once Craigslist was out of the picture, the trafficking networks then turned to Backpage.com to sell ads that exploit women and girls. Today this problem also persists at Google.com as the world’s largest supplier of online advertising.
Google, Inc is now in a unique position to choke the supply chain that delivers women and girls for sale through online sex trafficking. Google must resolve this issue in a meaningful way and stop profits from any sale of women and girls. Backpage.com’s ad revenue is a rounding error compared to the Google AdWords’ revenue collected from what has been called by a Google insider as "improperly filtered" and exploitative advertisers.
With more public information, Google’s recent December 2011 donation of $11.5 million to a handful of large organizations seeking to end human slavery may be seen as one of the most blatant examples of corporate hypocrisy in U.S. history. The Concerned Citizens of the World (as conveyed to WNN - Women News Network who delivers this message without bias) demand that Google stop funding its way out of problems with an urgent statement, "Do the right thing. Don’t Be Evil."
HERE'S THE PROBLEM:
Online trafficking of women and children is happening right now through the use of Google AdWords. The Concerned Citizens of the World are asking Google to simply stop selling advertisements to Human Traffickers!
HERE'S THE ISSUE:
Today's online ads show the exploitation of children and adults for sex and labor to be a frequent and ever-growing problem in our society. These ads are pervasive and easy to see by the public. All someone has to do is type in a search term using Google Search and sponsored links will appear on the right column showing advertisements purchased from Google by the human trafficking networks. Try this search now using Google Search with the terms "Russia Women" or other geo-located terms for women to see the advertisements.
It is understood that this is a complex problem for Google, but turning a blind eye and profiting from the sale of humans must not be tolerated. As the most prominent player in online search around the world, with power and scale far more significant than either Craig’s List or Backpage.com, Google is in a position to act responsibly, with transparency and to be a leader in the fight against human trafficking, not a facilitator.
WHY THIS IS GOOGLE’S PROBLEM:
Might there be something more behind Google’s well published and much needed $11.5 million donation to organizations fighting human slavery? Might it be fear?
On September 21, 2010, Michael Zwibelman, Litigation Counsel for Google, announced litigation against “rogue pharmacies” which “despite our best efforts” were able to place ads in violation of Google AdWords policies. Zwibelman went further to say, “Litigation of this kind should act as a serious deterrent to anyone thinking about circumventing our policies to advertise illegally on Google.”(1)
What Zwibelman didn’t mention was that Google was under criminal investigation for aiding and abetting in the sale of illegal online pharmaceuticals. On August 24, 2011 the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Google agreed to forfeit $500 million for allowing online pharmacies to place advertisements through its AdWords program. The United States attorney for Rhode Island, Peter F. Neronha, whose office was responsible for the investigation, said Google’s conduct was not the result of a few rogue employees. Mr. Neronha said the company’s chief executive, Larry Page, “knew what was going on.” Yet, according to Zwibelman, Google used “its best efforts” to keep these rogue pharmacies from placing ads. The public outcry to this can rise to say, “Duplicitous and a bit hypocritical, don’t you think?”
What Zwibelman also failed to mention was the lawsuit designed to “act as a serious deterrent” only targeted four individuals: a husband and wife from Ohio selling FDA compliant herbal dietary supplements, and Omar Jackman, who told The Register in 2010 that he advertised prescription drugs on Google for only about three weeks as an affiliate of a much bigger website called 4rx.com. When Google sent him an email demanding he stop running the ads in May or June, he complied, and said, “To be honest I didn't know you couldn't do that until I saw the warning.” “They issued a warning and I stopped immediately.” The Register reported that Jackman said his entire take for the campaign was about $40, which he claims was paid to him through PayPal. (2) The lawsuit filed by Google was a blatant attempt to front-run the negative publicity they anticipated from the impending disclosure of the criminal investigation and one of the largest criminal fines in U.S. history.
What prompted Google to make the December 2011 $11.5 million donation to combat human slavery? Is Google attempting to buy its way out before it is found to be complicit in the trafficking of humans for sex and labor? Have Google AdWords employees been involved in assisting sex sites and sites blatantly set up for trafficking? Can Google Adwords employees and managers now be charged with online crime as agents involved in "criminal complicity?" (3)
It appears that Google may now be trying to close the barn doors after the cows have left. Why is it that Google still allows trafficking sites that ostensibly claim to be “social dating and sex” sites to continue to advertise using Google AdWords?
While Craigslist and backpage.com have been targeted for their adult advertisements along with recent action by (U.S.) New York City Council legislators, Google has progressed unscathed even though it may be the largest facilitator of human trafficking.
Is Google hoping that by making an $11.5 million donation it can keep the larger anti-human trafficking advocacy groups quiet regarding Google’s involvement and mitigate its complicity in the sex and forced labor trades?
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
By signing this Petition you can be part of an important movement to help save a girl and/or woman from a terrible fate. You will be joining the Concerned Citizens of the World in calling on the leadership and the Board of Directors of Google, Inc to explain Google’s new plans to do more than just state their company filter policy to stop human trafficking. You will be calling on Google to enact a specific ACTION plan that will filter all ads correctly and completely.
THE ONLINE EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN AND GIRLS MUST BE STOPPED NOW!
PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION to help all those who are trapped in illegal local and global sex industries and sold through the improperly filtered use of Google advertisements.
______________________________________________________________
References:
(1): http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/taking-rogue-pharmacies-to-court.html
(2): http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/0/22/google_fights_rogue_pharmacies/
(3): http://womennewsnetwork.net/2012/04/19/us-congress-microscope-google/
_____________________________________________
Why People Are Signing
Recent Signatures
STOP Google Adwords From All Involvement in the Sexual Exploitation of Women & Girls
Greetings Larry Page, Eric Schmidt, Sergey Brin, Nikesh Arora and Rachel Whetstone
Dear Google Board Members and Executives:
The Concerned Citizens of the World ask that you -
“Don’t Be Evil!”
“Don’t Be Duplicitous”
“Don’t Be The Problem”
Stop facilitating the human trafficking of children and adults by implementing a “SLAVE FREE - Zero Tolerance Policy” on your AdWords system now.
Just as Google did the right thing by stopping illegal pharmaceutical advertising it has a legal and moral responsibility not to financially benefit from any site that is involved in the forced, illegal exploitation of women and girls, men or boys.
WE, which make up 41+ organizations fighting the trafficking of women and girls, plus the Concerned Citizens of the World (as reported to WNN - Women News Network who conveys this letter without bias as a message to Google by Concerned Citizens only), DEMAND that Google announces A NEW PUBLIC SAFETY POLICY for Google AdWords - to find, remove, and stop selling all AdWords advertisements that physically or sexually exploit victims of human trafficking. Your customers – along with Google employees’ assistance – are manipulating your existing public policy guidelines. Simply excluding direct prostitution, or escort services or intimate services DOES NOT WORK!
As outlined in the La Jolla Human Trafficking Accords of 2011:
“Modern day slavery exists today in the form of human trafficking and sexual exploitation in greater numbers than at any time in our history.”
• All peoples, regardless of race, religion, gender, age, nationality, or social group, have the right to live freely without fear of exploitation.
• Due to the increased demand for minor victims of labor and sexual exploitation, all children are entitled to society’s increased protection.
• Due to the fact that human trafficking is the fastest growing crime in our world today, this issue needs urgent attention and full collaboration among all service providers, law enforcement agencies, media outlets, community leaders, governmental agencies, and citizens.
Organizations affiliated with this petition who are fighting against human trafficking, along with the Citizens of the World, are users of Google’s vast array of wonderful services, but the selling of humans against their will is simply abominable and must be stopped.
Organizations affiliated to this petition who are fighting against human trafficking, along with the Citizens of the World, hereby request that Google, Inc immediately convene a Board meeting to discuss this issue.
The demands are simple, the resolve is clear; it’s Google's responsibility to do the following:
PUBLICLY state that Google is cognizant of the growing problem of human trafficking via the internet.
Google has seen the public outcry against Craigslist, BackPage and others, and Google is now committed to looking at its business model, specifically Google's adult advertisements, to weed out 100 PERCENT of human traffickers from Google sponsored search results in the U.S., Europe and worldwide. If Google can’t weed 100 PERCENT of the traffickers from its sponsored search results, Google will agree to stop taking any and all such advertisements effective March 15, 2012.
AGREE to donate 0.5 percent of your gross revenue for the next 5 years DIRECTLY to advocates who operate daily in contact with trafficking victims on-the-ground through shelters and as small service providers in many global locations.
AGREE to immediately set in place a “SLAVE FREE – ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY” and interview third-parties to assist Google with assuring the success of Google's efforts.
ENHANCE Google's efforts to work with law enforcement and small NGOs to provide “shelter, services and support” to the victims sold online while also cooperating fully with all local, national and global human trafficking investigative teams to capture, arrest and sentence human trafficking pimps, organizations, cyber-crime rings and cartels that have used your system for the trafficking of persons.
CLEARLY outline how Google, Inc, as a California corporation and a leading force in the internet, arguably THE leading force, are abiding by the spirit of U.S. State of California Transparency in Supply Chain Act of 2010, which Google will have to follow after the acquisition of Motorola Mobility closes.
Over 41 organizations fighting against human trafficking, along with the Concerned Citizens of the World, call on the Board of Directors of Google, Inc. to contact WNN - Women News Network directly to outline the Board’s strategy moving forward and to be interviewed for an upcoming WNN expose’ on this subject.
This urgent message has been conveyed to WNN - Women News Network by the following co-signatories:
________
[Your name]