Cloud storage firm Dropbox has had to contend with a user backlash over its decision to appoint Condoleezza Rice to its board of directors. The appointment was announced at the same time as the company’s new Carousel app, but users are concerned about Dr Rice’s associations with wiretapping and government surveillance while part of the Bush administration.
Many customers have started linking to a Drop Dropbox website which calls the appointment “problematic on a number of deeper levels.” Pointing towards Dr Rice’s perceived part in starting the Iraq war, authorizing wiretaps and legalizing the Bush administration’s torture program, the site concludes: “When a company quite literally has access to all of your data, ethics become more than a fun thought experiment.”
The Drop Dropbox site also provides links to Dropbox alternatives, a guide to switching services and a #DropDropbox hashtag that looks to be getting a fair amount of traction on Twitter over the weekend.
Such has been the outcry that Dropbox CEO Drew Houston has posted a blog post in response. “There’s nothing more important to us than keeping your stuff safe and secure,” he writes. “It’s why we’ve been fighting for transparency and government surveillance reform, and why we’ve been vocal and public with our principles and values.”
“We should have been clearer that none of this is going to change with Dr. Rice’s appointment to our Board,” adds Houston. “Our commitment to your rights and your privacy is at the heart of every decision we make, and this will continue.” Judging by the comments underneath the blog post, there are a lot of users who still need some convincing.
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