At Google we aspire to do the right thing. So we welcome a debate on international tax reform. Staff at Google's offfice in Dublin.
Photograph: John Cogill/AP At a time when families are having to tighten their belts and funding for vital public services is under pressure, corporate taxation is rightly a hot topic. And as a company that has always aspired to do the right thing, we understand why Google is at the centre of that debate. In the interests of moving the argument forward – away from accusation and toward action – here are three principles we hope most people can agree upon. Google fights secret FBI subpoena. The Patriot Act, passed in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, greatly expanded the FBI's power to issue National Security Letters, which do not require a judge's approval.
The FBI prohibits people who receive the requests from talking about them. Google cited a provision that allows judges to modify or deny National Security Letters that are “unreasonable, oppressive or otherwise unlawful.” Michelle Richardson, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said in an email that Google's stance is "groundbreaking," and is the first publicly available example of a company fighting a National Security Letter.
She said Google's resistance is "important because on a practical level, it's those types of companies that are receiving the overwhelming majority of [National Security Letters] in the first place. " Google declined to comment on the filing.
Google Vs Copyright. The Google Books Case Saga. A federal court yesterday rejected a settlement between Google, authors and publishers, throwing into doubt the search company’s plans to make every book ever published searchable online.
Acknowledging in his opinion that “the creation of a universal digital library would benefit many,” federal district court judge Denny Chin ultimately decided that the proposed agreement was “not fair, adequate and reasonable.” Origins of the Google Books Case This is the latest twist in a six-year legal saga that began when Google announced in 2004 that it was partnering with several research universities around the world to scan their entire library collections. Google would then make the digitized copies available for search online. To date Google has scanned over 12 million books.
Affaire Google Book Search. Google Italy. Google Near DOJ Settlement Over Online Drug Ads.