Microsoft Lobbied Mississippi AG To Censor Speech, Google Says

Microsoft joined the entertainment industry in lobbying Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood "to pressure Google to censor speech," the company says in new court papers.

The company makes the assertion as part of its request for documents from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, a law firm that represents Microsoft. Google says that Orrick joined with lobbyists from the entertainment industry to convince Hood to target Google.

As part of this effort, Orrick and the Motion Picture Association of America were among the hosts of a December 2013 fundraiser for Hood at the New Orleans steakhouse Galatoire's 33.

Orrick also allegedly worked with Microsoft's head of public relations to attack Google in the media. "Orrick helped AG Hood find outlets for press pieces smearing Google," the company alleges in its most recent court papers. "Hood’s office actively sought Orrick’s help in formulating his positions on Google and responding to Google’s rebuttals," Google alleges.

The company adds that Orrick "voluntarily reached out to AG Hood to provide 'extensive research' regarding what Orrick called 'Google’s practices.'"

Google also submitted to the court an email exchange between Hood and Orrick attorney Rob McKenna, former Attorney General of Washington, who strategize over how to place an op-ed authored by Hood in USA Today. That email exchange includes correspondence between McKenna and Microsoft communications director Jack Evans, who offered advice on the best person to contact at USA Today.

News of Microsoft's apparent role in lobbying Hood comes less than two weeks after Google said that Hood and entertainment industry representatives plotted a "media blitz" against it.

The strategy, which was outlined in a letter from the Attorney General's office to a lobbyist for the MPAA, involved arranging for the "Today Show" to run a critical piece, and for News Corp to "develop and place" a Wall Street Journal editorial that would emphasize that "Google's stock will lose value in the face of a sustained attack" by attorneys general.

Revelations about Microsoft's involvement with Hood's office mark the most recent development in Google's ongoing fight with Mississippi's top law enforcement official.

Late last year, Google sought a court order prohibiting Hood from enforcing a subpoena demanding information related to outside companies -- including operators of sites that Google indexes in its search engine -- that allegedly play a role in copyright infringement.

Google alleged that Hood threatened to institute legal proceedings unless the company blocked “objectionable” content created by consumers or outside companies. Google said that when it didn't comply with Hood's requests, he served the company with a 79-page subpoena demanding millions of documents.

Google argued in a lawsuit filed against Hood last December that he lacks authority to target Google for linking to sites that allegedly infringe copyright, because state attorneys general don't have jurisdiction over copyright infringement. The company also said that it was immune from liability for alleged crimes by third parties.

The company went to court just days after emails that surfaced in the Sony hack revealed “Project Goliath” -- a secret Hollywood-backed initiative to convince state attorneys general to target Google for allegedly enabling piracy.

The entertainment industry apparently launched Project Goliath soon after Congress failed to pass the Stop Online Piracy Act -- which would have enabled entertainment companies to more easily obtain court orders requiring Google (and other search engines) to stop displaying links to “rogue sites” in the search results.

In March, U.S. District Court Judge Henry Wingate in Jacksonville, Miss. sided with Google. He issued a preliminary order blocking Hood from continuing with the investigation. Hood is appealing that order to the 5th Circuit.

Wingate also said that Google could obtain documents and other information from Hood that would be relevant to the company's request for a final order in the case.

Google says in its latest court papers that the documents from Orrick will shed light on Hood's motives. "One of the principal issues in Google’s case against AG Hood is the question of what motivated his demands and threats to Google, culminating with a retaliatory and burdensome [subpoena]," Google says in its new court papers, filed in federal court in San Francisco.

Google adds that it expects that the law firm's material will help prove that Hood issued the subpoena to retaliate against Google for refusing to "'voluntarily' censor its speech."

1 comment about "Microsoft Lobbied Mississippi AG To Censor Speech, Google Says".
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  1. M F from Personal View, August 4, 2015 at 5:32 p.m.

    Really . . . Google now equates "censorship" with it's "right" to make money on illegal activity.  If Google is right, then as long as a company provides internet services, it is immune from its other activities, like actively encouraging illegal drug sellers to buy drugs and yes, infringers to use YouTube and consumers to use Google to search for pirate sites.   Google claims that it processes millions of takedowns, yet continues to index sites like MoviesTube and Movie4K - sites which admit that they are pirate sites with hidden sources.   Googles position is blatantly benefitting its business model while they try to fool people into thinking stealling "frozen" is speech.

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