--- title: "Intuit Begs Journalists to Delete Part of Interview With Its CEO" description: "Fintech Karen Intuit, the financial tech company behind TurboTax and Quickbooks, inexplicably demanded that The Verge completely delete a portion of editor-in-chief Nilay Patel's interview with its CEO, Sasan Goodarzi, because of...\"raised voices.\" According to Patel and the Verge, Intuit was specifically mad about a section of the interview in which Patel asks Goodrazi about TurboTax's […]" date: "2024-10-21" modified: "2024-10-21" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/intuit-delete-interview-ceo" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "fintech" - "intuit" - "the digest" - "turbotax" --- # Intuit Begs Journalists to Delete Part of Interview With Its CEO ![Intuit demanded that The Verge delete a portion of an interview with its CEO that centered on Intuit's controversial lobbying efforts.]() *Sasan Goodarzi at the Intuit Dome opening night event held at Intuit Dome on August 15, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images) \Image: Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images\* ## Fintech Karen Intuit, the financial tech giant behind TurboTax and Quickbooks, inexplicably [demanded that ]()*[The Verge]()* completely delete a portion of editor-in-chief Nilay Patel's interview with its CEO, Sasan Goodarzi, because of — we are not kidding — "raised voices." According to Patel, Intuit was specifically mad about a section of the interview in which Patel asks Goodrazi about TurboTax's known history of pouring millions of dollars into intense lobbying efforts. What has Intuit been lobbying against, you ask? As has been [widely documented]() [through]() [extensive reporting](), Intuit has been hoping to kneecap government efforts to let Americans easily file taxes online for free. Basically, Goodrazi got touchy when asked about his organization's efforts to neutralize government-spearheaded free tax filing programs. He hit back that Patel's question — the editor said that Intuit is "legendary for lobbying against free direct federal e-filing" and then straightforwardly asked how much of their budget is allocated towards lobbying efforts — was "fundamentally" based in the "wrong premise" and was "inaccurate," before declaring that Intuit doesn't "lobby against free." The exchange, which the *Verge* published in full without edits, went on for a few minutes. We wouldn't call it a friendly part of the conversation, but Goodrazi is the CEO of a company with a market cap [nearing $172 billion](). He's not new to interviews, nor should he be to this specific line of questioning — again, it's well documented that Intuit does, in fact, lobby against free! But it seems that Intuit couldn't let soon-to-be-sleeping-dogs lie. After the interview, the *Verge* reportedly received a deeply bizarre email from chief Intuit communications officer Rick Heineman calling the exchange "inappropriate," "egregious," and "disappointing." To cap off the angry message, Heineman demanded that "at the very least the end portion of your interview should be deleted." Think it's safe to say that this is a sore subject? ## Weird Stuff After the *Verge* told Heineman that it wouldn't delete the conversation, Heineman again demanded that the outlet "delete that which takes away from the conversation," which he clarified to be "raised voices" or either party "speaking over each other." So, in other words, any part of the conversation that didn't involve a journalist sitting placidly by as the CEO of a multibillion-dollar personal finance behemoth spits obfuscatory word salad over a serious public interest query. All in all, it's extremely strange stuff to be coming from a corporate giant — and doesn't exactly instill confidence that Intuit has the consumer's best interest at heart. **More on Intuit:** [*Maker of TurboTax Fires 1,800 Workers, Says It’s Pivoting to AI*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()