Emily Cherkin
Role at the time: Author, education-technology advocate and former teacher
Statement summary
Cherkin criticizes Google's approach to school-device risks and asks Seattle school leaders to disable YouTube and Gemini and reassess education technology.
“companies like Google will shift the legal risks of its products to school districts ... technology companies need children to be profitable”
Cherkin explains her participation in the joint letter and publishes her own request to Seattle school leaders. Her prediction about legal risk is advocacy, not a determination of district liability.
Why we used this label
The reference point is whether Google should bear responsibility for harmful content children access on school-issued Chromebooks. Cherkin writes that "companies like Google will shift the legal risks of its products to school districts" and asks Seattle school leaders to disable YouTube and Gemini, which condemns the approach. This is a distinct message by a signer of the joint letter. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, but she states the criticism without qualification.