- Google's antitrust trial regarding its search dominance begins Tuesday.
- In an email to staff, Google's top lawyer told employees to "refrain from speculating or commenting."
- Read the full memo sent to staff below.
Google's top lawyer has asked employees not to speculate on its blockbuster antitrust court battle with the Justice Department, which goes to trial Tuesday.
The DOJ sued Google in October 2020, accusing the tech giant of illegally maintaining a monopoly in search. Agreements where Google pays to be the default search engine on devices, such as the iPhone, and web browsers are at the heart of the case.
In his memo to staff, Kent Walker, Google's president of global affairs, called the lawsuit "deeply flawed," according to a copy of the email seen by Insider.
Walker also asked employees not to discuss the trial. The company has become increasingly careful over the years about putting sensitive information into emails and other messages.
"Please refrain from speculating or commenting on this (or any legal case), internally or externally," Walker wrote. "Our lawyers are on top of the specifics, and we are confident in our positions."
A Google spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hi everyone – From the beginning, our mission has been to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. And for 25 years we've invested in building helpful products and experiences. Our success is born from years of innovation, work, and focus on our mission. With this success comes scrutiny. That's not new for us. We've seen increased regulatory interest not only in the US but across the globe for well over a decade, and we've consistently shown that our services support both competition and consumers. Today we go to trial in Washington DC to defend ourselves against a lawsuit focused on how we distribute Google Search. As we've said from the outset, this lawsuit is deeply flawed. The Court has already significantly narrowed it, rejecting many claims about the design of our products. As for the remaining claims, you can read more about our arguments in last week's blog post. In a nutshell, people and platforms have a choice of search engines, and it's easy to change defaults. People don't use Google because they have to – they use it because it's helpful. We expect the trial will get public attention and analysis. Please refrain from speculating or commenting on this (or any legal case), internally or externally. Our lawyers are on top of the specifics, and we are confident in our positions. The best thing we all can do is focus on our mission and continue to build helpful products that improve people's lives. It has been a year of unprecedented change in the tech sector and as we all know, competition is incredibly vibrant. We will demonstrate that at trial, and will keep you posted. – Kent
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