Google Calls ALEC Support "Mistake" Over Climate Change Stance

Google has previously come under fire for supporting the American Legislative Exchange Council, more commonly called ALEC, which skews towards the "denier" side of the climate change sciences. That changed today, with Google's Eric Schmidt saying the company's support was a "mistake".

The statement was made during a session by Schmidt on The Diane Rehm Show. During the show, a caller brought up the ALEC issue, pointing specifically (again) to its negative stance on climate change and its support of those who present opposition to the issue.

Why Google got wrapped up with ALEC was not revealed, but Schmidt said that it was "for something unrelated." That involvement has been generally regarded as "sort of a mistake", according to Schmidt, and he went on to say the company was "trying to not do that in the future." What exactly that last part means isn't entirely clear, but he did go on to express harsh words against climate change deniers:

Everyone understands that climate change is occurring, and the people who oppose it are really hurting our children and grandchildren and making the world a much worse place. And so we should not be aligned with such people. They're just literally lying.

ALEC has also taken an unfavorable stance on municipal broadband and net neutrality, which Schmidt didn't address. Google isn't the only company to remove itself from ALEC, with Microsoft previously have taken the same action.

SOURCE: Ars Technica