A Promise Out of Silicon Valley: No Muslim Registry

Hundreds of tech workers sign vow to not facilitate Trump proposal if it comes to pass
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 14, 2016 1:57 PM CST
Tech Workers Sign Pledge Not to Build Muslim Registry
A religious-based registry is a no-go for hundreds of tech workers.   (Getty Images)

With whispers still swirling of a possible Muslim registry after Donald Trump takes office, a few hundred employees from major Silicon Valley companies are saying they'll take no part in such an endeavor if it comes to pass. Per USA Today, more than 300 tech workers—including "engineers, designers, business executives, and others whose jobs include managing or processing data about people"—from giants such as Google and Twitter (as well as from many other players) have signed a promise to that effect.

"We refuse to build a database of people based on their Constitutionally-protected religious beliefs," the statement reads, outlining the steps the workers vow to take if they're asked to act against this pledge. The promise also cites the role that data collection played in the Holocaust and in the WWII internment of Japanese Americans, noting that similar culling won't happen "on our watch, and never again." "What's important to me is that individuals who care about the ethical use of technology can step forward, show how many of us there are, and say that there are lines we will not cross," a Wave software engineer tells BuzzFeed News. The entire pledge appears here. (More Donald Trump stories.)

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