Dropbox’s decision to appoint former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the board is being condemned by some of the service users. Protesters on social media claimed that Condoleezza Rice is a controversial figure after revelations of widespread wiretapping on US citizens during her time in office, however, the company has said that the appointment will not change its principles and values.
Protesters have even set up a website Drop Dropbox, which states Rice’s appointment as “deeply disturbing” and also encourages customers to switch to rival services if Dropbox doesn’t “drop” Rice.
The cloud storage firm has however issued a statement which affirms that nothing about the company’s values and principles is going to change; rather Dropbox is “honored” to have Rice as one of its board members.
“There’s nothing more important to us than keeping your stuff safe and secure. 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,” Dropbox co-founder Drew Houston wrote on the company’s blog.
“We should have been clearer that none of this is going to change with Dr. Rice’s appointment to our Board. Our commitment to your rights and your privacy is at the heart of every decision we make, and this will continue.”
“We’re honored to have Dr. Rice join our board — she brings an incredible amount of experience and insight into international markets and the dynamics that define them.”
“As we continue to expand into new countries, we need that type of insight to help us reach new users and defend their rights. Dr. Rice understands our stance on these issues and fully supports our commitments to our users.”
Rice’s appointment came alongside Dropbox hiring former Motorola boss Dennis Woodside as its new chief operating officer, revamping its Dropbox for Business service, and the launch of a standalone photo-sharing app called Carousel.
Dropbox is the second company to face controversy over appointments recently. Last week, Mozilla faced a similar kind of situation when the company’s decision of appointing Brendan Eich as the new chief executive resulted in a public outcry over Eich’s financial contributions to an anti-gay marriage ballot initiative in California in 2008.
