- Sunday, April 27, 2014

Dropbox, a cloud data-storage company, announced this month that Condoleezza Rice has joined its board of directors, drawing some criticism on the Internet.

“When looking to expand our board, we sought out a leader who could help us expand our global footprint. Dr. Rice has had an illustrious career as provost of Stanford University, board member of companies like Hewlett Packard and Charles Schwab, and former U.S. secretary of state. We are honored to be adding someone as brilliant and accomplished as Dr. Rice to our team,” Dropbox chief executive Drew Houston said on the company’s blog.

But the new addition does not come without some debate and protest. A website called Drop-Dropbox.com, which encourages Dropbox members to switch to a competing cloud storage service, says it finds the newly-added board member “deeply disturbing.”

Why is Ms. Rice under attack? Could it be because she defended the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance program during a TV interview in 2005?

“There’s nothing more important to us than keeping your information safe and secure,” Mr. Houston said in his blog. “It is why we’ve been fighting for transparency and government surveillance reform, and why we’ve been vocal and public with our principles and values. Dr. Rice understands our stance on these issues and fully supports our commitments to our users.”

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