Over the past year, Google has faced intense criticism for its internal communications practices during three major antitrust trials. Plaintiffs, including the Department of Justice (DoJ) and Epic Games, presented extensive evidence claiming that the tech giant systematically suppressed evidence, deleted messages, and leveraged attorney-client privilege to shield itself from scrutiny, reported The New York Times.
As per the report, the scrutiny has revealed a longstanding culture at Google of restricting internal communication to avoid legal liability. This culture reportedly began with a confidential 2008 memo advising employees to “think twice” before discussing sensitive topics and to avoid speculation or sarcasm in their messages. Signed by Google’s top lawyer, Kent Walker, and engineering executive Bill Coughran, the memo also announced changes to the company’s instant messaging settings, ensuring chats were automatically deleted unless users manually saved them, adds the report.
The company reportedly framed these measures as necessary to manage an overwhelming volume of data. Kent Walker testified that Google produced 13 times more emails per employee than average corporations in its early years, leading to concerns about excessive document retention. However, critics argue the policies were designed to evade accountability.
During the trials, plaintiffs alleged that Google deliberately destroyed evidence by exempting instant messages from automatic legal holds. Employees were left to decide whether to save relevant messages, a task deemed impractical given the volume of communication. Judge James Donato of the US District Court for the Northern District of California described this approach as a “systemic culture of suppression of relevant evidence,” calling it “a frontal assault on the fair administration of justice.”
According to the report, Google has also been accused of abusing attorney-client privilege to withhold documents. In one instance, Chief Executive Sundar Pichai labelled an email about a non-legal matter as “Attorney Client Privileged” in an apparent attempt to keep it out of court. While Google later released the email following legal challenges, such practices have raised questions about the company’s integrity.
Further allegations surfaced regarding Google’s internal guidance to employees, which reportedly discouraged the use of words like “market” or “dominance” in communications to avoid triggering antitrust scrutiny. In one training document, even benign phrases like “putting products in the hands of customers” were flagged as potentially problematic.
The report adds that the judges across the cases have condemned Google’s actions. Judge Leonie Brinkema, presiding over the DoJ’s case in Virginia, stated that the company’s document retention practices were “not the way a responsible corporate entity should function” and suggested that “an awful lot of evidence has likely been destroyed.”
The Justice Department has requested sanctions against Google, including a presumption that missing evidence would have been unfavourable to the company.
Reportedly, Google has defended its practices, stating that it takes its legal obligations seriously and educates employees about legal privilege. A spokesperson claimed the company has cooperated with litigation for years, but critics argue its approach was excessively cautious to the point of undermining transparency.
As per the publication, this issue is not unique to Google. In other cases, companies like Amazon and supermarket chain Albertsons have faced similar accusations of deleting communications in defiance of legal preservation requirements. However, Google has faced the harshest criticism due to its scale and influence.
Legal experts warn that Google’s practices could backfire, creating an impression of guilt. Agnieszka McPeak, a law professor at Gonzaga University, remarked that “Google’s top-down policy of not saving anything that could make it look bad” ironically casts the company in a negative light.
With increasing legal pressure and growing scepticism from courts and regulators, Google’s approach to managing internal communications may soon require significant revision to restore its credibility.
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Published: 20 Nov 2024, 11:03 PM IST