Duolingo - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Duolingo is Medium Risk.

Duolingo is Medium Risk. The company often yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company elevates merit, excellence, and integrity ahead of race and identity-based policies. Duolingo occasionally embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues at times. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	Lower Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	No Data
Employment Protection	Medium Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	High Risk
Political Actions	No Data

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Duolingo has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (1).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

N/A

Rationale:

Duolingo does not publish charitable giving guidelines (1).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Duolingo does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (1).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

After Roe v. Wade was overturned, Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn pledged that the Pittsburgh-based company would move its headquarters if Pennsylvania’s state government were to ban abortion (1). The company has also stated that it will limit the expansion of its offices to states that protect abortion access (2). In 2020, von Ahn spoke out against then-President Trump’s immigration policy and threatened to move the company’s hiring to Canada in response (3). The company had also used its social media to engage in negative exchanges with Chick-fil-A over the fast food company’s founder’s opinions regarding marriage (4). The company has engaged in Pride-related online advocacy by including LGBTQ characters in its storylines in an attempt to “normalize queerness” (5). Duolingo called JK Rowling “mean” in a German lesson, and some have speculated that it is due to her stance on transgender ideology (6).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Duolingo provides a benefits package for employees that covers travel/lodging costs for an abortion (1)(2)(3). The company’s CEO made a twitter post stating, “I love that @duolingo is headquartered in Pittsburgh and that y’all use it as an example that successful tech companies can start here. If PA makes abortion illegal, we won’t be able to attract talent and we’ll have to grow our offices elsewhere” (4). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of the company using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (5).

Criteria:

Uses corporate political actions and/or financial contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level:

N/A

Rationale:

Duolingo does not operate a PAC or report on its lobbying at this time (1)(2)(3).