Google employees have been improperly using attorney-client privilege to shield documents from discovery in litigation and government investigations, the Justice Department says in a court filing.
In a court filing, the Justice Department asked for Google to be sanctioned for creating a Communicate-with-Care program that trains workers to include an attorney and a request for advice when writing about sensitive business matters.
Often, knowing the game, the in-house counsel included in these Communicate-with-Care emails does not respond at all, the department said, adding that many of the emails had to do with revenue share agreements that Google had struck with other companies.
A Google spokesperson said that the company had given the government more than 4 million documents. “Our teams have conscientiously worked for years to respond to inquiries and litigation, and suggestions to the contrary are flatly wrong” the spokesperson said.
The allegations are the latest in a series of challenges against Google and other Tech Giants. Authorities in the US, Europe, and other jurisdictions, have grown increasingly vigilant of Big Tech companies ingluding Google, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon, and their various strategies intended to maintain their dominance over their respective markets.
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