Read the email Google’s top lawyer sent employees asking them to ‘refrain from speculating or commenting’ as a blockbuster antitrust case heads to trial

• 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 the company’s high-profile antitrust case with the Justice Department, which goes to trial on Tuesday.

The DOJ sued Google in October 2020, accusing the tech behemoth of illegally maintaining a search monopoly. The case revolves around agreements in which Google pays to be the default search engine on devices such as the iPhone and web browsers.

According to a copy of the email seen by Insider, Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs, called the lawsuit “deeply flawed” in his memo to employees.

Walker also requested that employees refrain from discussing the trial. Over time, the company has become more cautious about including sensitive information in emails and other messages.

“Please refrain from speculating or commenting on this (or any legal case), internally or externally,” Walker wrote in an email. “Our lawyers are on top of the specifics, and we are confident in our positions.”

A Google spokesperson did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Hello everyone -Our mission has always been to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. And we’ve spent the last 25 years investing in creating useful products and experiences. Years of innovation, hard work, and dedication to our mission have resulted in our success.With success comes increased scrutiny. That is nothing new to us. For well over a decade, we’ve seen increased regulatory interest not only in the United States but around the world, and we’ve consistently demonstrated that our services benefit both competition and consumers.Today, we go to trial in Washington, DC to defend ourselves against a lawsuit centered on how Google Search is distributed. As we have stated from the beginning, this lawsuit is deeply flawed. The Court has already narrowed it significantly by rejecting many claims about the design of our products. Regarding the remaining claims, you can find more information about our arguments in last week’s blog post. In a nutshell, people and platforms have a variety of search engines to choose from, and changing defaults is simple. People use Google because it is useful to them, not because they have to.We anticipate that the trial will garner public attention and analysis. Please refrain from speculating or making external or internal comments on this (or any other legal case). Our lawyers are well-versed in the details, and we are confident in our positions.The most important thing we can all do is stay focused on our mission and continue to create useful products that improve people’s lives. The tech sector has experienced unprecedented change this year, and as we all know, competition is fierce. We will demonstrate this in court and keep you updated.- Kent