Google settled racism case from contractor 'treated like a terrorist'

New contract offer withdrawn after 'Rashid' complained that undercover project left him vulnerable to profiling

Google was forced to settle a claim of race discrimination by one of its contractors after he claimed he was repeatedly treated as a terror suspect while working on a covert research project to navigate shopping centres for Google Maps.

Ahmed Rashid (not his real name), a UK citizen of Moroccan descent, had an offer of a new contract abruptly withdrawn after he complained to Google about being frequently harassed, racially profiled, and accused of acting like a terrorist while conducting undercover research for Google in retail malls across the UK, he claimed.