Google to Employees: Don’t ‘Get Distracted’ by Antitrust Case
- Company tries to avoid Microsoft missteps from 20 years ago
- Google lawyer tells workers not to speculate on legal issues
Photographer: Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images
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The Justice Department’s antitrust case against Google bears a striking resemblance to the U.S. government lawsuit against Microsoft Corp. 20 years ago. Google is desperate not to make the same mistakes as its forerunner.
The 1998 complaint, and Microsoft’s aggressive and scattered defense, is credited with slowing the software giant down and letting upstarts -- including Google -- gain a foothold. Even though Microsoft avoided being broken up, the years of public scrutiny and court drama were a debilitating distraction.