“F*ck off Google”: protest against Google

Campus Berlin

Martin Paul Fritze, Gertraud Maria Gänser-Stickler, Sarah Türk and Yingshuai Zhao

Martin Paul Fritze,

Google plans to implant a “Google Campus” in Kreuzberg, Berlin. We, as a decentralized network of Gertraud Maria Gänser-Stickler,
people, want to keep our lives and spaces free from this law- and tax-evading company that is Sarah Türk and Yingshuai Zhao
building a dystopian future. (FuckoffGoogle, 2018) are all based at the Faculty of
Economics and Social
In November 2016, Google announced plans to rent a building in the trendy, multicultural Sciences, University of
Kreuzberg district of Berlin to open a Google Campus – a business incubator for tech start-ups, Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
offering support, workshops and networking opportunities for entrepreneurs. But soon after the
announcement, disaffected local communities organized several protests, asserting that “It’s
extremely violent and arrogant of this mega-corporation, whose business model is based on
mass surveillance and which speculates like crazy, to set up shop here,” according to a protest
leader known by his alias, Larry Pageblank (Business Times, 2018). Berlin’s local government
supported Google’s plan, yet Kreuzberg inhabitants’ fierce protests to combat gentrification and
Google’s commercial exploitation of the neighborhood sought to reject its potentially huge
impact on their privacy and lifestyle. In face of this challenge, was it still possible for Google to
continue its plans in Berlin?

Berlin: a rising star in the start-up scene

In 2016, Berlin was a popular site for German start-ups, accounting for 17 percent of all German
start-ups (Kollmann et al., 2016). A new tech start-up was being founded every 17 h in the city,
with about 500 of them launching every year (Pretzell et al., 2018). The city offered various
incubators, accelerators and co-working spaces, as well as good access to capital and financial
support (see Figure E1). In addition, Berlin provided a safe city with high living standards, parks,
low rental prices, a rich cultural and art scene, and people from diverse international
backgrounds. Moreover, Berlin’s renowned universities contributed to the knowledge-intensive
environment, and Germany maintained a stable legal and political system. Together, these
features made Berlin highly attractive for creative, international entrepreneurs to set up shop,
while also providing pull factors for recruiting employees (Teleport, 2015). Berlin’s start-ups
thus took pride in their ecosystem and famously adopted an inclusive attitude, known as the
“Berlin Spirit” (Dörner, 2016). All of these elements were pertinent to Google’s 2016 plan to open Alphabetical order indicates that all
a Campus in Berlin. authors contributed equally to this
publication.

Google campus: a breeding ground for entrepreneurs

The “Google for Entrepreneurs” project was designed particularly to promote technology start-
ups. It revolved around Google Campuses, which feature connecting spaces that seek to bring Disclaimer. This case is written
solely for educational purposes
together like-minded problem solvers and provide facilitative conditions for entrepreneurs and is not intended to represent
(see Figure E2) (Google, 2019). successful or unsuccessful
managerial decision making. The
When Google chose the city for a new Campus, Berlin’s politicians were optimistic. authors may have disguised
names; financial, and other
The city’s mayor Michael Müller viewed the plans as an opportunity, calling it “an important recognizable information to protect
day for Berlin” (Álvarez, 2016). Local politicians also expressed their hope that Google, as a confidentiality.

DOI 10.1108/TCJ-03-2019-0013 VOL. 15 NO. 6 2019, pp. 669-688, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1544-9106 j THE CASE JOURNAL j PAGE 669
 successful company, would invest in growing neighborhoods, spur digitalization of the city, and
help link the city’s scientific institutions and businesses (Lock, 2018). As it moved forward with
the plan, Google chose the vibrant Kreuzberg neighborhood, known for its creative,
diverse culture and unconventional scene, filled with entrepreneurs and artists. In 2016,
Google started renting a building in the heart of Kreuzberg and preparing for the Campus
opening, initially scheduled for 2017. The project would hire six to ten Google employees, with
room for around 20 start-ups (Lock, 2018). The pieces thus were in place for a fruitful
cooperation between Google and Berlin, but there was one thing nobody had reckoned with:
the residents of Kreuzberg!

Kreuzberg: a special neighborhood?

Berlin’s Kreuzberg district has long been renowned for its art scene, student spirit,
environmentalism, underground nightlife and radical political activism. In addition, the
neighborhood’s strong sense of community has prompted highly invested efforts to
protect the local ecosystem. Inhabitants were proud to call themselves “Kreuzbergers.”
The area is only 10.38 km2 in size[1], yet its increasing popularity has led to greater population
density and soaring rents (Table E1 and Figure E3), such that “The problem of rising
rents and lack of living space is one of the most important issues for Berlin,” according
to Petra Rohland, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Urban Development and
Housing. The Kreuzbergers, known for their liberal, left-minded political attitudes, have
responded to these developments by forming activist groups and coalitions that work to
address issues surrounding gentrification, displacement and the privatization of public space
(Wilder, 2017).

Google: caught in the battle against gentrification and displacement

When Google decided to open its campus in Kreuzberg, it added fuel to the fiery debate
about gentrification, rents, and displacement of small shops and inventive businesses, which
has long been integral to Kreuzberg’s culture (Business Times, 2018; Marcus, 2019).
Protesters argued that Google Campus would spur these negative developments, possibly
leading to a situation like that in San Francisco, where extreme poverty and technology wealth
live side by side (Badger, 2018). Protesters perceived that the multinational corporation would
kill off their very identity, threatening the loss of their individualistic lifestyle and start-up scene
through a profit-oriented restructuring of the neighborhood (FuckoffGoogle, 2018). They also
noted that Google’s business model conflicts with the liberal, progressive and creative
spirit of Kreuzberg. People were particularly suspicious of the company’s collection and
monetization of personal data, reflecting previous critiques of Google’s data protection policies.
Finally, protestors highlighted news reports of Google’s tax evasion and mass surveillance
practices (Lock, 2018).
This distrust in the company and its ethics, combined with the ongoing fight against gentrification,
led to fierce protests targeting the Google Campus. The multiple campaigns included animated
Twitter activity and the creation of online platforms such as “fuckoffgoogle.com” (Lock, 2018). In
2018, protestors even occupied the area where the Campus was planned, prompting their arrest
by local authorities (Greene, 2018). Confronted with such opposition, Google had no choice but
to postpone the opening of its Campus.
The Google Campus initiative promised to bring benefits and modernization to Berlin’s vibrant
start-up scene; the inhabitants of Kreuzberg instead regarded its entry as interference by what
they viewed as a questionably ethical, multinational company. So what should Google have done
in the short term to handle the protests? Should it continue to pursue its strategy and open a
Google Campus in Kreuzberg?

Note
1. Note: 1 km2 ¼ 0.38 sq. miles.

PAGE 670 j THE CASE JOURNAL j VOL. 15 NO. 6 2019

References
Álvarez, S. (2016), “Kreuzberg bekommt einen start-up-campus: Google erweitert seine Repräsentanz in
Berlin”, Der Tagesspiegel, available at: www.tagesspiegel.de/wirtschaft/kreuzberg-bekommt-
einen-start-up-campus-google-erweitert-seine-repraesentanz-in-berlin/14885098.html (accessed
May 28, 2019).
Badger, E. (2018), “Happy New Year! May Your City Never Become San Francisco, New York or Seattle: or
Portland, Denver, Boston, Dallas, Houston or Los Angeles”, The New York Times, available at: www.
nytimes.com/2018/12/26/upshot/happy-new-year-may-your-city-never-become-san-francisco-new-
york-or-seattle.html (accessed May 28, 2019).
Berlin.de (2017), “Friedrichhain-Kreuzberg von Berlin: Zahlen und Fakten”, available at: www.berlin.de/ba-
friedrichshain-kreuzberg/ueber-den-bezirk/zahlen-und-fakten/ (accessed June 4, 2019).
BerlinHyp (2018), “Wohnmarktreport Berlin 2018”, Berlin Hyp & CBRE.
Business Times (2018), “Google not welcome in Bohemian Berlin district: Silicon Valley giant caught in
crossfire of Kreuzberg’s gentrification warfare”, The Business Times, Berlin, available at: www.businesstimes.
com.sg/technology/google-not-welcome-in-bohemian-berlin-district (accessed May 28, 2019).
Dörner, S. (2016), “Das menschlichere Silicon Valley liegt in Deutschland”, Welt, available at: www.welt.de/
wirtschaft/article154915491/Das-menschlichere-Silicon-Valley-liegt-in-Deutschland.html (accessed
May 28, 2019).
FuckoffGoogle (2018), “Don’t let Google take over Berlin!”, FuckOffGoogle, available at: https://fuckoffgoogle.
de (accessed May 28, 2019).
Google (2019), “GoogleForStartups”, available at: www.campus.co/ (accessed June 4, 2019).
Greene, T. (2018), “German protesters clash with police over proposed Google campus”, thenextweb.com.
available at: https://thenextweb.com/google/2018/09/07/german-protesters-clash-with-police-over-
proposed-google-campus/ (accessed May 28, 2019).
Kahl, Julian and Scheuplein, C. (2016), “Berliner venture-capital report 2016”, Technologiestiftung Berlin,
Berlin, available at: www.technologiestiftung-berlin.de/fileadmin/daten/media/publikationen/160913_
Berliner_VC-Report_2016.pdf (accessed May 28, 2019).
Kollmann, Tobias, Stückmann, Christoph, Hensellek, Simon, Kensbock and Julia (2016), “Deutscher startup
monitor”, KMPG, available at: https://deutscherstartupmonitor.de/fileadmin/dsm/dsm-16/studie_dsm_2016.pdf
(accessed May 28, 2019).
Lock, H. (2018), “ ‘Google go home’: the Berlin neighbourhood fighting off a tech giant”, The Guardian,
available at: www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/may/09/fuck-off-google-the-berlin-neighbourhood-fighting-
off-a-tech-giant-kreuzberg (accessed May 9, 2018).
Marcus, I. (2019), “Kreuzberg: the melting pot in the Heart of Berlin”, available at: https://berlinspectator.
com/2019/05/20/kreuzberg-the-melting-pot-2/ (accessed May 20, 2019).
Pretzell, C., Kopp, S. and Yasuda, A. (2018), “Berlin aktuell – Digitalwirtschaft gibt den Takt vor”,
Investitionsbank Berlin, Berlin, available at: www.gruenden-in-berlin.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Downloads/
Digitale_Wirtschaft-2018.pdf (accessed May 28, 2019).
Teleport (2015), “Quality of life in berlin”, teleport.org, available at: https://teleport.org/cities/berlin/ (accessed
May 29, 2019).
Wilder, C. (2017), “In Berlin, a grass-roots fight against gentrification as rents soar”, The New York Times,
available at: www.nytimes.com/2017/03/18/world/europe/berlin-rent-fight-against-gentrification.html
(accessed May 28, 2019).

Further reading
BerlinAirport (2018), “Annual report Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg 2017”, Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg
GmbH, Berlin.
Berlin.de (2018), “Zahlen, Fakten und Standortvorteile”, available at: www.berlin.de/wirtschaft/
wirtschaftsstandort/standortfaktoren/3932386-3671590-Standortvorteile.html (accessed June 4, 2019).

Berlin.de (2019), “Berlin im Überblick: Zahlen und Fakten”, available at: www.berlin.de/berlin-im-ueberblick/
zahlen-und-fakten/ (accessed June 4, 2019).

VOL. 15 NO. 6 2019 j THE CASE JOURNAL j PAGE 671

 Berlinerzeitung (2017), “Protest-Hauptstadt Etwa 5000 Demonstrationen gab es 2017 in Berlin”, available at:
www.berliner-zeitung.de/berlin/protest-hauptstadt-etwa-5000-demonstrationen-gab-es-2017-in-berlin-2
9409030 (accessed May 28, 2019).
Business Location Center (2018), “Wirtschaftsstandort Berlin”, available at: www.businesslocationcenter.de/
de/wirtschaftsstandort/standortinformationen/start-up-metropole (accessed May 28, 2019).
Google (2017a), “Campus startup report London”, available at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/
1JAIP8w6Aj9dJ2ZzOYqLzg1qDEEZiwkXJ/view (accessed May 28, 2019).

Google (2017b), “Campus startup report TelAviv”, available at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/

1jwvK4dXcetCJrnelEUUmCOsKHuQ8SWgk/view (accessed May 28, 2019).

PWC (2015), “PWC-Befragung von Start-up-Unternehmen”, available at: www.pwc.de/de/mittelstand/

assets/ergebnisse-start-up-b2b-befragung.pdf (accessed May 28, 2019).

Exhibit 1

Figure E1 Fact sheet Berlin

Berlin
German FOUNDER
CAPITAL with 40.000
business registrations and more
than 500 foundations per year
Source: BusinessLocationCenter (2018)
Some examples of successful
Berlin-based start-ups:
• Zalando
• ImmobilienScout 24
• N26
90% of the start-ups in Berlin
rated their location with “rather
good” or “very good”
Source: PwC (2015)
Berlin being home to numerous
VENTURE CAPITALISTS, 47% of
the venture capital investments
in 2015 were investments in
Berlin-based start-ups
Wide selection of SUPPORT
ORGANIZATIONS including incubators,
co-working spaces, legal support and
regional support programs
EMBASSIES OF 158 STATES
are situated in Berlin
CENTER OF GERMANY’S
POLITICAL DECISION-MAKING:
Residence of the German executive
house in the Chancellery, German
Parliament called Bundestag and the
Bundesrat, representing the Federal
States
Germany is part of the EUROPEAN
UNION and subject to EU-wide
regulations
Germany has a strict data
privacy law and strong
employee rights

Source: Kahl et al. (2016) With 5.000 DEMONSTRATIONS in

Every 10th foundation in Berlin
and every 7th new job in Berlin
emerges in the field of DIGITAL
ECONOMY
Source: Pretzell et al. (2018)
Home of 39 UNIVERSITIES
AND COLLEGES
Highest density of RESEARCHERS
AND ACADEMICS in Germany
Source: Berlin.de (2018;2019)
2017, Berlin can be called the German
protest capital
Source: BerlinerZeitung (2017)
The airports Schönefeld and
Tegel handled 33,3 MILLION
PASSENGERS in 2017
Source: Berlin Airport (2018)
Good train connection to all
major German cities and good
inner-city public transport
Intersection of European transport
routes

Source: Icons obtained from Microsoft Office

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Figure E2 Fact sheet Google Campus
Google for Startups
Mission
Provide FINANCIAL SUPPORT
Offer FREE TRAININGS and
mentoring
Provide HUBS (supportive
community, access to critical
resources, work on ideas)
Accompany founders through
their START UP JOURNEY
“We believe in the convening
POWER OF PHYSICAL SPACE.”
“That’s why we build Campuses:
gathering places for innovators to
SHARE IDEAS, LEARN from each
other, and support their LOCAL
ECOSYSTEM.”
“We’re passionate about HELPING
STARTUPS succeed”
3,952 new jobs created
by Campus startups
worldwide in 2017
Source: Google (2017a)
> 255m funds raised by
Campus startups
worldwide in 2017
Source: Google (2017b)
Source: Google (2019). Icons are obtained from Microsoft Office
and Pixabay
Source: Pixabay
London, Madrid, São Paulo,
Seoul, Tel Aviv, Warsaw
Each Campus…
Source: Pixabay
Has WORKSPACES, COMMUNITY
EVENT SPACES, CLASSROOMS,
AND CAFES for teams
Joins Google for Startups GLOBAL
NETWORK of tech hubs
Brings growth-stage start-ups the
best of GOOGLE’S PRODUCTS,
CONNECTIONS, AND BEST
PRACTICES
Focus on technological start-ups
“Campus has broadened my
horizons as an
entrepreneur–it opened my
eyes to everything I didn’t
know but needed to. It
really fosters your growth,
and meeting people from all
walks of life adds to that."
Karan Shanmugarajah, Founder
of WealthKernel
VOL. 15 NO. 6 2019 j THE CASE JOURNAL j PAGE 673
 Figure E3 Net rent per m2 in 2017, by Borough

Net rent per m2 Change compared to 2016

Mitte 11.8 12.9%

Treptow-Köpenick 9.0 10.6%

Tempelhof-Schöneberg 9.7 10.2%

Charlottenburg-Willmersdorf 11.2 10.0%

Marzahn-Hellersdorf 7.3 9.6%

Reinickendorf 8.6 9.1%

Spandau 8.0 9.1%

Berlin 9.8 8.8%

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg 11.9 7.9%

Lichtenberg 9.1 7.2%

Steglitz-Zehlendorf 9.8 5.9%

Pankow 10.1 5.1%

Neukölln 9.8 3.8%

Note: 1 qm (m2) =10.76 sq. feet

Source: The authors’ figure, based on data from BerlinHyp (2018)

Table E1 Population profiles 2016

Berlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg

Population 3,670,622 281,323 (7,7%)

Population with migration backgrounda 1,151,732 115,370
Population with migration background in percentage 31 41
Average age 42.7 years 37.8 years
Average monthly salary €1,175 €1,175
Note: aA person has a migration background if they or at least one parent does not have German citizenship
Source: The authors’ figures, based on data from Berlin.de (2017)

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Exhibit 2. Case-related YouTube videos
Many videos related to the issues contained in this case are available on YouTube; a selected list
is shown in Table E2. A short video such as “Campus TelAviv” can help students obtain a better
understanding of the work done on other Google Campuses.

Table E2 List of selected YouTube videos

Duration
Topic Video URL (minutes)

Campus TelAviv Google Campus TelAviv www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbmBmbPcYhk 1.59

Campus London Google for Entrepreneurs: Campus www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL_APnjE_PA 2.05
London
Residency Program Google for Start-ups Residency www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=ox 2.19
Lz4HIRqzU
Initiative by the Activists fighting Google Who owns Berlin? “F*** off Google” www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARMh72EtelE 0.59
in Berlin (trailer)
Initiative by the Activists fighting Google Who owns Berlin? “F*** off Google” www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXwlV7mUTLs&t= 8.57
in Berlin (Part 1) 110s
Initiative by the Activists fighting Google Who owns Berlin? “F*** off Google” www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW7Z80E9dWU 8.26
in Berlin (Part 2)

Corresponding author
Martin Paul Fritze can be contacted at: fritze@wiso.uni-koeln.de

VOL. 15 NO. 6 2019 j THE CASE JOURNAL j PAGE 675