Quote:Expensify’s boss urged the company’s millions of clients to support Joe Biden in November’s presidential election in a mass email that said voting for President Trump would be “a vote against democracy.”

The Thursday note from the expense-reporting software company’s founder and CEO David Barrett drew praise and criticism from users, with some questioning whether the company violated their trust by pushing a political endorsement to their inboxes.

In the message, Barrett said he feared the country’s democratic systems wouldn’t survive another four years under Trump and that such a collapse could hurt Expensify as a company. He also accused the president of trying to suppress votes and making overblown claims about voter fraud.

“Expensify depends on a functioning society and economy; not many expense reports get filed during a civil war,” Barrett wrote. “… I am confident our democracy (and Expensify) can survive a Biden presidency. I can’t say the same about Trump.”

Barrett acknowledged that the email — which went to 10 million people at 100,000 businesses that use Expensify’s software, according to Bloomberg News — would rub some people the wrong way. He wrote that the recipients “don’t need to listen” and invited those who disagreed with him to share their thoughts on Twitter.

Barrett also said Expensify employees had a long discussion about the letter and worked to fact-check the claims within it.

Plenty of customers took Barrett up on his invitation, with some saying they would take their business elsewhere. Critics also argued it was inappropriate for the San Francisco-based company to employ its cache of user data for political purposes.

“We selected Expensify as a vendor based on trust — after all, you have financial information for us organizationally as well as the personal information of hundreds of my colleagues,” Daniel Rothschild, the executive director of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, wrote in a letter to Barrett. “You also have our email addresses. We trusted you with our private information. You have violated that trust.”

But some Expensify users applauded Barrett for taking a clear position and articulating it at a crucial point in the nation’s history.

“If I wasn’t already an [Expensify] customer, I’d want to switch to encourage more leaders to be as bold,” public-relations practitioner Martha Shaughnessy tweeted. “It’s so far beyond typical politics. Everything is at stake.”

Expensify’s email came amid intense debates in recent months over the role that Silicon Valley’s tech giants, such as Facebook and Twitter, should play in the nation’s political processes.

Other tech firms have taken a more restrictive stance on politics. Brian Armstrong, CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, published a controversial blog post last month saying the company would ban at-work political discussions, drawing criticism from Twitter chief Jack Dorsey and Dick Costolo, the social network’s former CEO.

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I have never heard of this pos company.

Get woke go broke cvcksvckers.

Couldn’t that be construed as a violation of campaign laws. He used a company to unfairly endorse a presidential candidate.

It is most likely a violation of their data protection policy and agreement with the customer.

Also interested in how they fact checked that our democracy can’t survive 4 more years of Trump.

Oh good. I've been really worried about all these heavy-handed, undemocratic state mandates the past several months. Glad to know that Trump is behind it all.

So glad Expensify went out of its way, even assuming the liability risks associated with violating its own privacy policy and ethics to let its customers know that the Democrats will let us vote on government-mandated mask requirements and shutdowns in 2021.

(10-23-2020 04:28 PM)CrimsonPhantom Wrote:  

Quote:Expensify’s boss urged the company’s millions of clients to support Joe Biden in November’s presidential election in a mass email that said voting for President Trump would be “a vote against democracy.”

The Thursday note from the expense-reporting software company’s founder and CEO David Barrett drew praise and criticism from users, with some questioning whether the company violated their trust by pushing a political endorsement to their inboxes.

In the message, Barrett said he feared the country’s democratic systems wouldn’t survive another four years under Trump and that such a collapse could hurt Expensify as a company. He also accused the president of trying to suppress votes and making overblown claims about voter fraud.

“Expensify depends on a functioning society and economy; not many expense reports get filed during a civil war,” Barrett wrote. “… I am confident our democracy (and Expensify) can survive a Biden presidency. I can’t say the same about Trump.”

Barrett acknowledged that the email — which went to 10 million people at 100,000 businesses that use Expensify’s software, according to Bloomberg News — would rub some people the wrong way. He wrote that the recipients “don’t need to listen” and invited those who disagreed with him to share their thoughts on Twitter.

Barrett also said Expensify employees had a long discussion about the letter and worked to fact-check the claims within it.

Plenty of customers took Barrett up on his invitation, with some saying they would take their business elsewhere. Critics also argued it was inappropriate for the San Francisco-based company to employ its cache of user data for political purposes.

“We selected Expensify as a vendor based on trust — after all, you have financial information for us organizationally as well as the personal information of hundreds of my colleagues,” Daniel Rothschild, the executive director of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, wrote in a letter to Barrett. “You also have our email addresses. We trusted you with our private information. You have violated that trust.”

But some Expensify users applauded Barrett for taking a clear position and articulating it at a crucial point in the nation’s history.

“If I wasn’t already an [Expensify] customer, I’d want to switch to encourage more leaders to be as bold,” public-relations practitioner Martha Shaughnessy tweeted. “It’s so far beyond typical politics. Everything is at stake.”

Expensify’s email came amid intense debates in recent months over the role that Silicon Valley’s tech giants, such as Facebook and Twitter, should play in the nation’s political processes.

Other tech firms have taken a more restrictive stance on politics. Brian Armstrong, CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, published a controversial blog post last month saying the company would ban at-work political discussions, drawing criticism from Twitter chief Jack Dorsey and Dick Costolo, the social network’s former CEO.

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The "vote against democracy" line has to be the dumbest most overused line in the election lexicon. Honestly, the actions being taken by Big Tech and media to stifle political news stories would be the biggest threats to democracy in the last 25 years. The reality? A vote for either candidate is literally democracy in action. The Expensify email is moronic and is a excellent example of just how hysterically out of touch many Democrats have become.

Companies can take political positions...at their peril. Buy ad time, billboards, etc.
But this was different. They used contact info provided to them by their customers.
Did their customers approve being email messaged on any and all topics?
They certainly betrayed the trust of their customers.
They might've acted illegally if there was an understanding that communications would be limited to business.
If legal action is taken against them or customers walk...no crying.
Go woke. Go broke.

This ceo is an Idiot. Soon to be eaten alive.....

But Trump’s policies benefit the rich. Why would they want him out?

A lawsuit could put them out of business.

(10-23-2020 04:57 PM)DragonLair Wrote:  Couldn’t that be construed as a violation of campaign laws. He used a company to unfairly endorse a presidential candidate.

I think you are right.

I would switch providers if I were a customer.

It would be one thing for him to simply publicly state his support. But using his connection to my business is on another level.

Plus, the guy is a total loon. His employees fact checked his letter? He repeats the most mindless looniest things the Democrats say.

(10-23-2020 07:47 PM)gdunn Wrote:  But Trump’s policies benefit the rich. Why would they want him out?

Because he is a fascist. He has invaded Poland and has been rounding up the Jews and won’t permit elections to take place...

Trump must be defeated. Democracy is on the line!!!!