A Texas investigation is going on in which it is being determined that whether or not Google has indulged in anti-competition practices. Google had been asked to submit documents which the attorney general says are an important part of evidence. In total, these comprise of 14,500 documents, according to AG Greg Abbott.
While Google claims that it has shared hundreds of thousands of documents with Mr. Abbott in lieu of the case, Abbott alleges that Google is not presenting him the relevant documents and thus, is trying to obstruct the proceedings of the case.
One chief problem with the whole affair is that there is a significant possibility that the documents Abbott is asking for are communications between Google employees and its lawyers. And if that is the case, the documents will fall under attorney-client privilege and thus, Google will not be legally bound to release them.
Abbott, however, holds that the documents are not of such nature and thus, are not legally covered. Google’s record, on the other hand, is not very glorious when it comes to investigations regarding its own practices.
For instance, when investigations were made into Google’s Street View mapping feature, FCC found out that Google was trying to impede these investigations and ‘deliberately impeded and delayed’ them. As a result of this, FCC slapped the company with a $25,000 fine.
Nonetheless, it seems obvious that by being on top for so long, Google is the target of so many other organizations and institutions who are trying to curb its powers and somehow control them. And this includes the U.S. government who is always seeking ways to find surveillance tools within the realm of web to monitor the activity of users.
Source: BBC
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