Google's Chief Privacy Officer of more than 13 years, Keith Enright, announced that he will be leaving the company this fall in a shock move — and Google has no plans to fill his position.
Right wrote a long announcement on his LinkedIn page on Tuesday announcing his departure, saying he was “ready for a change” and that he's excited to “try something new” in the coming months, though he didn't specify where he plans to go next after.
“Google set out to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful, and it has been an incredible privilege to advance that mission by protecting individual privacy and putting people in control of their information,” Enright wrote. . “With thoughtful legal advice, we supported teams that helped make smartphones more accessible to billions of people around the world, removing economic barriers to the technology's incredible benefits.”
Enright also noted that while it's in the “early stages,” Google's privacy team “has been trying to inform a foundation for responsible AI governance” among other accomplishments and accolades during his tenure.
“Perhaps the biggest epiphany I've had over the last few years is realizing that one's legacy is not the things you build, the things you put your name on, or the laurels others place at your feet along the way,” he. said. “It's the relationships, the friendships you make, the mentors and mentees you have, the positive impact you have on the lives of those around you and the changes they bring to you.”
Google confirmed Enright's decision in a statement first from Reuters.
“We regularly evolve our legal, regulatory and compliance efforts to meet new obligations and expectations,” a Google spokesperson said. “Our latest changes will increase the number of people working in compliance across the company.”
for ForbesThe company has no plans to replace Enright, and many took the news of his departure as “a friend.”
Enright's departure comes at a controversial time for the company's security and legal departments.
Earlier this weekan internal Google database that tracked privacy and security issues in it 404 Mediashowing a number of problems that had been hidden from the public for more than six years, including Google making YouTube recommendations based on deleted watch history and Google Street View accidentally reading and storing thousands of license plate numbers.
“At Google, employees can quickly report potential product issues for review by the appropriate teams,” a Google spokesperson said the newspaper said in a statement. “The reports received by 404 are from over six years ago and are examples of these flags – all have been reviewed and resolved at that time.”
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Last December, Google faced a $5 billion lawsuit that alleged the company had tracked Internet data from people using private web modes like “incognito mode” in Chrome. In April, Google agreed to delete billions of data as part of the settlement.
Google's parent company, Alphabet, it was upstairs 39% over a one-year period as of Wednesday afternoon.