June 24, 2015

Google Inc. Larry Page, CEO & Co-Founder 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043

Dear Mr. Page,

The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, U.S. Ontario Province is a shareholder of Google and a member of the Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investment (NWCRI). Our sisters have been committed to the education of children for over 170 years in the U.S. and internationally. It is with this dedication to children’s welfare that we write to you about an issue that concerns us: features of the new YouTube Kids application that seem to take advantage of children’s developmental vulnerabilities, violating media and advertising safeguards that protect children. In expressing this concern, we are joined by other members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), as well as other institutional investors. ICCR and its members have a long history of socially responsible investing and collaborating with companies to promote transparency and business practices that are sustainable in terms of impact on communities and the environment. Our efforts with companies have addressed a variety of environmental, social and governance issues, including the ways in which the marketing of unhealthy food and beverage products is linked to the global problem of childhood obesity. Some 170 million children under 18 are overweight worldwide and in the U.S. childhood obesity rates are nearly triple what they were in 1980. Obesity in childhood has lasting health repercussions, putting children at higher risk for a range of diseases and becoming ill earlier in life. In recent years, there has been increasing consensus among public health experts that food and beverage marketing is a major factor influencing the diets and health of children and youth. For ICCR members invested in media companies that carry food advertising, this issue raises not only moral, but financial questions. Shareholders’ concerns have grown as influential voices in government, public health, finance, and the media have drawn attention to the extent of the global obesity epidemic, the relationship between the epidemic and industry practices, and the risks and opportunities this relationship presents to companies. A recent complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by a coalition of respected children’s and consumer advocacy groups has brought to our attention deeply concerning aspects of our company’s new YouTube Kids application. The complaint charges the app with practices such as mixing advertising and programming in ways which children will find indistinguishable; featuring program- length commercials for products of companies including McDonald’s; and distributing segments that feature toys, candy, and other products which are ostensibly user-generated and don’t disclose whether business relationships exist between the video makers and the manufacturers of these products. The complainant coalition points out that the latter practice likely violates the FTC’s Endorsement Guidelines, while the other features flout well-established advertising safeguards that have long been in place for both broadcast and cable television, including: (1) a prohibition against the host of a children’s program from delivering commercial messages; (2) strict time limits on the amount of advertising any

children’s program can include; (3) the prohibition of program-length commercials; and (4) the banning of “product placements” or “embedded advertisements.” Such “blending of children’s programming content with advertising material on television,” the coalition points out, “has long been prohibited because it is unfair and deceptive to children. The fact that children are viewing the videos on a tablet or smart phone screen instead of on a television screen does not make it any less unfair and deceptive.” The complaint also charges that our company is violating its own advertising policies with YouTube Kids. For example, while the company promises that food and beverage ads will not appear on the app, advertising and promotions for junk food are prominently featured throughout. “YouTube Kids is the most hyper-commercialized media environment for children I have ever seen,” commented Dale Kunkel, Professor of Communication, University of Arizona. “Many of these advertising tactics are considered illegal on television, and it's sad to see Google trying to get away with using them in digital media.” Moreover, despite Google’s assurance that the app provides a “safe space” for children, the complainant organizations have discovered that the app’s search function allows children to retrieve violent, disturbing, and potentially destructive content that is utterly inappropriate for children by any measure. Concern about YouTube Kids continues to grow. Last week U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla), as Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, sent a letter to you, Mr. Page, asking how Google selects content for YouTube Kids, and how the company ensures that children are not being exposed to unsuitable content. When our company launched the YouTube Kids app a few months ago, Google described it as “the first Google product built from the ground up with little ones in mind.” There is much to indicate, however, the company has not instituted adequate safeguards to make this child-directed, ad- supported app a responsible undertaking – let alone one in which children’s interests are paramount. We are concerned about the risks it poses to children, as well as attendant regulatory and reputational risks it poses to our company. We would appreciate hearing from you as soon as possible about how our company intends to respond to the charges made against the YouTube Kids app, and how we plan to ensure that this product will protect children from harmful marketing and content. Relatedly, we would like to learn whether the company has considered implementing marketing/content safeguards for children ages 6-12 who watch YouTube itself.

Thank you,

Sister Judy Byron, OP Representative of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, U.S. Ontario Province 1216 NE 65th St Seattle, WA 98115 [email protected]/ 206.223.1138

Co-Signatories:

Natasha Lamb Bashar Qasem Director of Equity Research & Shareholder President & CEO Engagement Azzad Asset Management Arjuna Capital

Jeffery W. Perkins Lisa Laird Executive Director VP Investments & Cash Management Friends Fiduciary Corporation St. Joseph Health

Molly Murphy Jonas Kron Chief Investment Officer Senior Vice President & Director of Shareholder Mercy Health Advocacy Trillium Asset Management Donna Meyer, PhD Director of Shareholder Advocacy Cathy Rowan Mercy Investment Services Director, Socially Responsible Investments Trinity Health Deborah Fleming Director Sonia Kowal Northwest Women Religious Investment Trust President Zevin Asset Management, LLC Lura Mack Director Portfolio Advisory Board, Adrian Dominican Sisters

Danielle Ginach Impact Manager Sonen Capital

Cc: Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube Investor Relations