Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by janrinok on Thursday March 24 2022, @01:25AM   Printer-friendly

Google allegedly hid documents from search monopoly lawsuit, DOJ claims:

Google employees have been improperly using attorney-client privilege to hide documents from discovery in litigation and government investigations, according to fresh allegations laid by the US Justice Department (DOJ).

"Google has explicitly and repeatedly instructed its employees to shield important business communications from discovery by using false requests for legal advice," DOJ attorneys wrote in a court filing for its search monopoly lawsuit against Google.

According to the court filing [PDF], Google taught employees to slap an attorney-client privilege label and generic "request" for counsel's advice label on any sensitive business communications that Google might wish to shield from discovery. Slapping these labels onto communications prevents them from being provided for discovery in litigation.

This practice has allegedly been used throughout all levels of Google's hierarchy, with the DOJ claiming Google parent company Alphabet's CEO Sundar Pichai copied Google chief legal officer Kent Walker onto an email to YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki about how to respond to a press inquiry, with "Attorney Client Privileged" at the top.

In these "camouflaged" communications, the attorney allegedly remained silent on a frequent basis, which the DOJ claims underscored that these communications were not genuine requests for legal advice but rather "an effort to hide potential evidence".


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 24 2022, @04:49AM (10 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 24 2022, @04:49AM (#1231619)

    Someone please downmod this Republican piece of shit traitorous scum-sucking line-lizard, and give him what for, and sentence for storming the capitol building. Oh, and a cell with Donald, because the Donald might need something to chair him up.

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   0  
       Troll=1, Insightful=1, Total=2
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   0  
  • (Score: 2) by janrinok on Thursday March 24 2022, @06:58AM (9 children)

    by janrinok (52) Subscriber Badge on Thursday March 24 2022, @06:58AM (#1231631) Journal
    Why don't you log in with a fictitious user name and moderate it yourself like many others do?
    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 24 2022, @09:22AM (8 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 24 2022, @09:22AM (#1231646)

      Why is it those fighting for their 'free speech' [allegedly, SoylentNews] want to achieve it by taking that same right away from others? [Presumeably aristarchus].

      Would say FTFY, but it's still broken. Irony not lost, but again wasted.

      • (Score: 3, Informative) by janrinok on Thursday March 24 2022, @11:52AM (7 children)

        by janrinok (52) Subscriber Badge on Thursday March 24 2022, @11:52AM (#1231651) Journal

        aristarchus can, and does, post as AC. If he joins in and posts on-topic and intelligent comments he will not draw attention to himself and his posts will remain visible. If, however, he continues to disrupt threads with off-topic complaints then he will be treated appropriately. We have an email address - he knows it well. If he wishes to continue this discussion he knows where to contact us. Spoiling other community members' discussion is not the way to do it.

        If you wish to continue then you should also use our email address please : admin [at] soylentnews [dot] org. Your comments are off-topic.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 24 2022, @01:35PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 24 2022, @01:35PM (#1231682)

          You're being wayyyyyyy too accomodating to someone who obviously suffers from serious mental health issues.

        • (Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 24 2022, @08:26PM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 24 2022, @08:26PM (#1231843)

          Email, you say? What does one say to the censors? Is it really worthwhile talking to them? And where is the link to financial reports?

          (I laugh when janrinok is the judge of on-topicness and disruption. He probably could get a job at Google, well, except for that "not young" thing.)

          Oh, and who is this "aristarchus"?

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 25 2022, @07:19PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 25 2022, @07:19PM (#1232120)

            More and more Spam mod abuse! TMB! Come back! Help us take out this garbage

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 25 2022, @05:50PM (3 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 25 2022, @05:50PM (#1232097)

          Gots to love the fluctuating standards you employ!

          • (Score: 2) by janrinok on Friday March 25 2022, @06:02PM (2 children)

            by janrinok (52) Subscriber Badge on Friday March 25 2022, @06:02PM (#1232099) Journal

            We only know it is aristarchus by what he writes or when he makes one of his many mistakes with his use of VPNs. If we do not know it is him, how could we take action?

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 25 2022, @10:42PM (1 child)

              by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 25 2022, @10:42PM (#1232210)

              how could we take action?

              By Spam modding AC comments based on content. Your target is well aware of what your accuracy rate is. What passes for evidence on SoylentNews is truely pathetic. Censors gonna censor!

              • (Score: 2) by janrinok on Saturday March 26 2022, @07:18AM

                by janrinok (52) Subscriber Badge on Saturday March 26 2022, @07:18AM (#1232322) Journal
                Which is precisely what we do. As I said - I have already undone some spam mods that did not meet the criteria.