Yahoo the latest tech firm to cut ties with conservative group ALEC

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On Tuesday, a Yahoo spokesperson told The Chronicle that it was still a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council, known as ALEC, the controversial conservative policy organization — even after Google and Microsoft said they were leaving. A Yahoo spokesperson said Tuesday that "at this time, we are members of ALEC and limit our engagement to their Communications and Technology Task Force."

On Wednesday, Yahoo changed its mind. Following the lead of Google, Facebook and Yelp, this week, Yahoo is bolting ALEC.

"We've decided to discontinue our membership in ALEC. We periodically review our membership in organizations and, at this time, we will no longer participate in the ALEC Task Force on Communications and Technology," that same spokesperson said in an e-mail.

We asked what changed Yahoo's mind and will post the company's response when we receive it.

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On Tuesday, the company spokesperson said, "At Yahoo, we engage in the political process in a variety of ways to promote and to protect the long-term interests of our users and our company. One of the ways we do so is is through memberships in organizations that help advance our business objectives. We may not agree with all the positions of an organization, its leaders or its supporters."

ALEC officials told The Chronicle that they expect more tech firms to leave, soon, too.

"It pains me to say, but it's not surprising," ALEC spokesman Bill Meierling told The Chronicle. "They (tech firms) are very coordinated and work together on the same policy initiatives so make sense. But we certainly would like them to be part of the discussion in the future."

"But at the same time, I wish they were making their departure on fact rather than disingenuous campaigns by climate activists," Meierling said.

ALEC officials say that the recent departure of big name tech companies is a bit of an anomaly. While big name non-tech firms like Kraft and Coca-Cola led a raft of departures a couple of years ago in the wake of revelations about ALEC's connection to Stand Your Gun and voter ID laws, ALEC said only two companies have left between April 2012 and this past July when Microsoft split. Its 200 member companies represent roughly 33 million workers.