A new report reveals that a Google product manager is suing the Mountain View company due to the alleged illegal confidentiality policies and practices in has in place in order to prevent various leaks. However, the policies prohibit Google employees from discussing even internally matters regarding illegal conduct or dangerous products.
The news broke after the Google employee filed a complaint on Tuesday in the Superior Court of California. The document reveals that Google’s alleged confidentiality policies and practices violate the laws in California. More specifically, the company restricts the right of employees to speak or whistle-blow regarding a potentially illegal action. Furthermore, the policies prohibit workers from speaking to the government, the press or even their attorneys about a possible wrongdoing. Google allegedly goes as far as to restrict employees from speaking to their spouses or friends about their work.
The complaint also revealed that Google’s own Investigation Team uses volunteers to report on other employees and if they have disclosed any information about the company. The complaint creates a strong contrast with the image and culture that Google has strived to create and promote.
Furthermore, Google has even started a program called Stopleaks which requires employees to report the strange actions of personnel, like anyone asking specific questions about a specific project or job. The complaint also reveals that Google’s attempt to prevent leaks goes as far as to require employees to have the company’s permission to write fiction about a person working at a tech company in Silicon Valley. The author would be required to obtain Google’s approval on the idea of the book as well as the final draft.
These confidentiality policies revealed in the complaint are intended to allow Google a higher degree of control over both former and current employees, limit competition, restrict the reporting of wrongdoing or misconduct. However, it seems that Google’s attempt may very well violate several constitutional rights of their employees.
The complaint mentions that the case does not take issue with any of Google’s trade secrets, any undisclosed information or consumer privacy. Instead, it focuses on how Google’s confidentiality policies affect the civil liberties of their employees through illegal means.
What do you think about this whole situation?
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