Tech workers are uniting and stating in a pledge that they will not participate in creating a Muslim database as promised by President-elect Donald Trump during his campaign. Twitter and Facebook supports the pledge while tech giants like Tesla's Elon Musk, Microsoft's Satya Nadella, and Apple's Tim Cook to name a few are swapping wish list with Trump during a tech meeting last Wednesday, Dec. 14.

Trump has stated in a CBS interview that he will push for a Muslim database to stop Muslims from entering the United States. However, weeks after Trump was declared as president, his team has denied Trump's stand on a Muslim registry although it is still stated in Trump's website that he will impose a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the US," the Los Angeles Times reported.

To fulfill Trump's promise, it would require a Muslim database, but tech workers have banded together to tell the president-elect that they will not participate in its creation. On Dec. 14, more than 640 tech workers like software engineers, business executives, designers and data processing personnel from various firms like Twitter, Google, Microsoft, Mozilla and Palantir Technologies have signed a pledge stating their "solidarity with Muslims."

The pledge strongly opposed the planned data collection policies that target persons based on religion, race and national origin. Moreover, tech workers refusing the Muslim database creation are advocating within their ranks to reduce data collection that could target a single ethnic and religious group.

Twitter was the first to say that the company is not allowing developers to use the platform for any kinds of surveillance, emphasizing Twitters stand with a definitive "Period." Facebook claimed that they were not asked to make a Muslim database, but assured its users that they will not participate in such an endeavor.

The no-to-Muslim-database pledge by tech workers comes as a message to Trump during a tech meeting with Silicon Valley moguls like Tesla's Elon Musk, Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg, Alphabet's Larry Page, Microsoft's Satya Nadella, Apple's Tim Cook, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, IBM's Ginni Rometty, and Intel's Brian Krzanich with Twitter's Jack Dorsey curiously absent. Trump first commended the participants and then offered the assistance of his administration according to USA Today.

The tech giants and Trump swap wish lists with the former asking for tax reforms to decrease regulations, improving education and easing of immigration controls that could affect the talent pool of Silicon Valley. Trump asked for repatriation of profits from overseas, creation of manufacturing jobs in US shores and the invention of the hoverboard featured in "Back to the Future."

Topics Twitter