Eric Schmidt's presence at eMerge Miami recalls his role in Google partnering with the Castro dictatorship and the ethical and human rights concerns it continues to raise

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Eric Schmidt's presence at eMerge Miami recalls his role in Google partnering with the Castro dictatorship and the ethical and human rights concerns it continues to raise

Contact: Augusto Monge, freecubafoundation@proton.me

Eric Schmidt in Cuba in December 2016

Free Cuba Foundation. Miami, Florida. April 20, 2023 -  The invitation of Eric Schmidt, now of Schmidt Futures and the former CEO of Google and chairman of Alphabet to be a keynote speaker at eMerge Miami presents an opportunity to revisit Mr. Schmidt's tenure at Google/Alphabet and its continued business relationship with the Cuban dictatorship.

On December 12, 2016, Google/Alphabet CEO Eric Schmidt signed an agreement with the Castro dictatorship in Cuba, a state sponsor of terrorism. This ill-advised agreement (still in place) with the communist regime's communication's monopoly ETECSA continues to raise concerns with human rights activists about the ethics of sharing technology with the highly centralized totalitarian regime. It has been suggested this technology transfer and collaboration is providing technical assistance to the Cuban secret police to create digital dossiers on citizens, which are used to silence and arrest dissidents online in real time.

Despite this, Mr. Schmidt returned to Cuba in June 2018 to meet with Miguel Diaz-Canel, but did not publicly address concerns about Cuba's secret police having access to Google servers on the island, or that Google's pilot display center gives priority access to agents of the Ministry of the Interior (MININT). 

Eric Schmidt and Castro regime rep Mayra Arevich sign agreement.

 

As millions of Cubans struggle to secure their freedom Google/Alphabet decided to side with the Castro regime and not the Cuban people. As thousands of Cubans were arrested for exercising their universal human right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, and a draconian penal code imposed targeting online expression, Mr. Schmidt and Google/Alphabet have remained silent on their share of responsibility in the imprisonment of thousands of young Cubans that use their technology in the island.

Mr. Schmidt's visit and ongoing business ventures in South Florida should present an opportunity to examine Google's ongoing business dealings with the terrorist regime in Cuba. Two important questions that need to be asked:

1) What can be done to protect Cubans from the predations of Google's and Mr. Schmidt's partners in the Cuban dictatorship?

2) What can policy makers in Washington do to ensure that Google's and Mr.Schmidt's arrangement with Havana does not empower the secret police, as it appears to be doing now, and help the Cuban people?

The pattern established first with Communist China, then continued in Cuba have cost lives, endangered democracy around the globe, and contributed to the undermining of international human rights standards as totalitarian dictatorships, with the aid of Western companies like Google, have modernized their repression for the 21st century, and extended their reach transnationally..

Miguel Diaz-Canel, Eric Schmidt, and Brett Perlmutter

It is imperative that technology companies not aid anti-democratic regimes, especially those governments, like Cuba, that sponsor and engage in terrorism.

"Communist dictatorships do not respect private property rights, and will double cross tech companies. This pattern has been seen in China, and collaborating with the oppressor generates ill will among those who will lead a democratic transition.

In the long run, it is both bad ethics and bad business to alienate millions of freedom loving Cubans and Cuban-Americans by collaborating with the Castro dictatorship," said Augusto Monge, chairman of the Free Cuba Foundation.   

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