Microsoft has survived tough battles against Apple and Google, but now the company faces a formidable enemy: the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace.
The community is trying to hold the company accountable for its technology, and urges Microsoft shareholders to vote in favor of two proposals at a meeting on November 30:
- Ask Microsoft to ensure that its lobbyists adhere to its values and policies on racial justice, human rights and privacy.
- Ask Microsoft to stop all face recognition sales to government agencies.
The sisters may not look like the stereotypical digital activists we know, but they know a lot more about technology than one might expect.
Who are the sisters of St. Joseph of Peace?
The Roman Catholic Order was founded in 1884 in Nottingham, England by Margaret Anna Cusack and has a history of promoting social justice as a path to peace. The church currently exists in the United States, the United Kingdom and Haiti.
The sisters are experienced shareholder lawyers. This year, they have focused their efforts on Microsoft lobbies.
Tech isn't neutral. We filed a shareholder resolution asking #Microsoft to report on #lobbying alignment. Despite its #racialjustice policies, Microsoft lobbies for bills enabling police surveillance. Watch this 2 min video with Sister @susanfrancoishttps://t.co/DJM46AmIvV
- CSJP Sisters (@SistersofPeace) November 22, 2021
Sister Susan Francois is a prominent activist of the order.
He was once an election clerk in Portland, Oregon and on her blog, states that the terrorist attacks of September 11 sowed the seeds for her "transition from bureaucrat to nun Gen-X".
"As shareholders, as technology workers, as advocates of justice, we can and must be accountable to these companies," he said in a video of the campaign. "New innovation should support human dignity and an equal and just society, not increase divisions and discrimination."
Sister Susan is also a very productive Twitter user. In 2018, the New York Times they interviewed her after sending daily prayers to Donald Trump for more than 650 days.
As racial justice protests swept the United States last year, Microsoft pledged to curb sales of facial recognition technology to police. However, the company made no mention of its other disputed government clients, such as ICE and authoritarian regimes.
The company also tries to formulate the regulations that govern it. Microsoft has been pushing hard for its laws face recognition adopted in Washington last year.
"Despite what it says publicly, Microsoft spends its annual budget on a $ 9,5 million lobby to fight a bill that would ban face recognition," said Sister Susan.
"In fact, it is pushing states to pass laws that will increase the use of dangerous police surveillance technology."
The St. Joseph of Peace sisters had asked Microsoft for a report on how its lobby aligns with its stated principles, Hill said in June. So now they called on the company's shareholders to hold the company accountable.
Good luck, sisters.