Google raises ‘confidentiality’ alarms about state antitrust probe, claiming key consultants have ties to its rivals

The Texas-led antitrust investigation into Google has already spilled into court, after the company told a judge that two experts retained by the states raise serious “confidentiality” concerns given their past work with rivals, such as News Corp.

For Google, the trouble is that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), who is leading the probe, has not imposed sufficient ground rules governing which documents those consultants can see, and who they can work for during the inquiry and after it concludes, raising red flags. In response, Google has asked the judge to impose an order that prevents any consultants — including Cristina Caffarra and Eugene Burrus, who are mentioned in the complaint — from disclosing any sensitive information they obtain, or working for the company’s competitors during the matter and one year after it ends. Google alleges that it proposed similar terms directly to Texas, though it claims the attorney general’s office rejected it. The order would also apply in cases where other states wanted to access the trove of records Texas amassed, according to the filing.