DUE DILIGENCE FOR BRASILIA NOMINEE GOOGLE EARTH OUTREACH

UNCLAS BRASILIA 001118 SIPDIS USDOC FOR ITA/MAC/WH/OLAC/ADRISCOLL STATE FOR EEB SMITH-NISSLEY AND WHA SALAZAR E.0. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ECON EINV SENV ETRD BR SUBJECT: DUE DILIGENCE FOR BRASILIA NOMINEE GOOGLE EARTH OUTREACH FOR STATE'S 2008 ACE AWARD REF: A) STATE 84836, B) BRASILIA 829 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED ¶1. (SBU) Post BRASILIA reaffirms that the conduct of Google Earth Outreach, building conservation partnerships with indigenous leaders and practitioners in the Amazon forests of Brazil, has been exemplary and deserving of consideration for State's 2008 Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE). An award for Google Earth Outreach would further highlight Director of Foreign Assistance Henrietta Fore's recent challenge to U.S. companies operating in Brazil, expressed during her August 7-10, 2008 trip to Brazil, to aspire to even greater levels of corporate social responsibility worldwide. Responses to questions follow. ¶2. (SBU) Could there possibly be any downside or embarrassment caused by the selection of your post's nominee? See paragraph 6. Recent press regarding Google's activities and cooperation has been positive and we believe the possibility for embarrassment to be negligible. Although Google Earth Outreach is a lesser known member of the Google family, public perception of Google products is very positive and the partnership of Google Earth Outreach with the indigenous group is a compelling story of innovative corporate social responsibility and targeted outreach of Google mapping technologies, exemplifying of one of Director of Foreign Assistance Henrietta Fore's keystone development concepts, the Global Development Commons. For an update on Google Earth Outreach engagement with the Surui people, see: http: //googleblog.blogspot.com /2008/07/ragogmakan-google-goes-to-amazon.htm l ¶3. (SBU) Do you have any information concerning job creation in the United States resulting from the operations of the company you nominated? Job creation was not the focus of this nomination, although Google is doing quite well in Brazil - and therefore, creating jobs in the United States. ¶4. (SBU) What is your assessment of the company's trade and investment activities with regard to helping stimulate economic growth in the U.S. and increasing American exports? Google is a global company on the cutting edge of information technology worldwide, stimulating economic growth in the U.S. ¶5. (SBU) What is the state of labor conditions in the company's facilities and are workers unionized? As a high-tech company, Google offers adequate working conditions. We do not have any information about worker unionization. ¶6. (SBU) Are you aware of any litigation pending in local courts involving the company? Yes, Google has legal matters pending in Brazil, including the aftermath of a Brazilian Parliamentary Inquiry, over allegations that Google and member company Orkut were unwilling to provide information to law enforcement authorities on the identity of pedophiles and individuals involved in child pornography. We understand that Orkut is cooperating with local authorities. Apparently Google, partly because of its visibility as the leading search engine, is still subject to occasional requests by federal authorities to disclose user information. However, we do not see possible granting of an ACE award to Google Earth Outreach as a complicating factor in outstanding litigation, but rather as solid evidence of Google's positive engagement in sound economic and social development in Brazil. ¶7. Please confirm that the Chief of Mission and others involved in the nomination process do not hold shares of stock or have other financial interests in the company. Ambassador has told Post about a potential conflict of having a sibling who works for Google, and in order to be very careful, has directed Post to refer all Google related information to DCM Lisa Kubiske. By informing the DCM directly on all Google matters, the conflict has been dealt with. SOBEL