- Android founder and former Google exec Andy Rubin has blocked almost all his followers on Twitter, and his account appears to be locked.
- Rubin has been lying low after an explosive New York Times report last year detailed how he was fired from Google in 2014 over a sexual misconduct allegation, then handed a $90 million payout and a hero’s exit. Rubin has denied the claims.
- According to the Twitter account Big Tech Alert, which tracks when tech executives follow and unfollow each other, Rubin has mass blocked almost everyone following him, including a host of big names in tech.
- These include former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Libra chief David Marcus, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.
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Android creator and former Google exec Andy Rubin has locked down his Twitter account, possibly to escape sustained criticism of his alleged sexual misconduct while at Google.
Rubin appears to have blocked almost all his Twitter followers as of Wednesday. Blocking someone on Twitter forces them to stop following you, and Rubin’s mass blocking exercise means there are just 11 people still following his account at the time of writing.
According to the Twitter account Big Tech Alert, which tracks when tech executives follow and unfollow each other, Rubin has ended up blocking a host of big names in tech, including a number of his former colleagues at Google.
These include former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Libra chief David Marcus, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.
His account also seems to be locked, and it now follows just 2 people.
Shona Ghosh/Business InsiderAnyone who had previously been following Rubin will now see Twitter’s block screen:
Shona Ghosh/Business InsiderIt’s possible Rubin locked down his account to protect his @ mentions.
An explosive New York Times report from October 2018 detailed how Rubin was, in 2014, was the subject of a credible sexual misconduct complaint while still at Google. Rubin had allegedly been having an extramarital affair with a woman at Google and, according to the complaint, had coerced her into oral sex.
According to the Times, then-Google CEO Larry Page asked Rubin to resign. At the time, Rubin’s resignation was cast in an amicable light. The Android creator received a $90 million exit package from Google, and Page lavished him with praise.
Rubin denied the report at the time, describing the claims as “false allegations” that were part of a “smear campaign.”
That New York Times report has tarnished Rubin’s reputation and helped spark the mass global walkouts at Google the following month. When he resigned from Alphabet earlier this month, Larry Page was accused by ex-Googlers of not fixing what they saw as leniency towards staff accused of sexual harassment.
Rubin has also been the subject of constant criticism on Twitter for the last 12 months. Even a cursory search for tweets directed at Rubin show several posts referencing the misconduct allegations. In October this year, BuzzFeed reported that Rubin was also out of the venture capital firm he founded.
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