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Google is pressing for two in-house attorneys to have access to
the confidential data while the Justice Department and state
attorneys general involved in the lawsuit have disagreed, Google
said in a court filing on Friday.
Google stated it needed the information to prepare an effective
defense. It offered to ensure that any confidential information
would be made available solely to two in-house attorneys at the
offices of Google's outside counsel or in another secure manner,
adding that it would promptly report any disclosure.
The government said in a separate filing that allowing Google's
staff attorneys to review "strategic plans related to rival
voice assistants, and other commercially sensitive information"
was dangerous because they could misuse the information to
squash potential competition.
The government also said that highly confidential files in the
last big technology antitrust case, which involved Microsoft
Corp about 20 years ago, were only available to the company's
outside counsel.
The companies whose documents are in dispute in the Google case
also include Oracle Corp, AT&T Inc, Amazon.com, Comcast Corp and
others. They have until next Friday to make their proposals for
the terms of a protective order.
Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia is hearing the Justice Department's case against
Google. The government sued Google in October, accusing the $1
trillion company of illegally using its market muscle to hobble
rivals in the biggest challenge to the power and influence of
Big Tech in decades.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Additional reporting by Paresh Dave
in San Francisco; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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