Under fire for its search engine monopoly and its anti-competitive practices in the ad technology space, the policies of Google are already under judicial review in several regions including Australia, the US and the EU.

Now, newly uncovered emails reveal how Google, as well as other Big Tech companies, used their clout to allegedly undermine overseas regulations.

In May 2023, Google tried to enlist the US Trade Representative office in its unsuccessful attempt to fight Canada’s Online News Act, which went into effect last December.

Emails uncovered reveal the company’s head of trade policy, Nicholas Bramble, emailing three USTR staffers – senior director for services and digital trade Andrea Boron, deputy assistant trade representative Robb Tanner and director for Canada Randall Oliver – to request a meeting last May for “upcoming developments on Canada”, reported the New York Post.

That meeting was granted four business days later, and the USTR asked the company to share its “public comments” detailing objections and concerns about the Online News Act.

Apart from attempting to shape government policy, the company even resorted to using mainstream media to influence support for the act. It offered an opinion piece by the Financial Times which argued in favour of “other, less confrontational solutions.”

Google eventually reached a last-minute deal with Canada last November and agreed to pay $74 million (A$110.09 million) to media outlets.

 

A spokesman for Google, José Castañeda, has defended lobbying the USTR office. “We regularly engage with government officials on many issues, especially ones that could harm US consumers and interests.

“Both publicly and privately, we shared our concerns about foreign government policies that disadvantage American companies, and we will continue to do so.”

At times, it appears as though the USTR is also cosying up to Big Tech. In August 2023, the USTR’s Danielle Fumagalli emailed Amazon and Google staffers for their takes on a proposal in Japan aimed at helping domestic cloud-computing firms compete for government contracts and explain “how problematic this change would be for you.”

It is not uncommon for USTR representatives to end up with high-profile jobs at Big Tech firms. Fumagalli’s email to Amazon was addressed to Mary Thornton, who was then the head of trade and export controls policy for Amazon’s cloud unit, and formerly worked as a director at the USTR.

 

In another instance in May last year, USTR’s Boron also directly emailed Amazon’s head of US trade policy, Kate Kalutkiewicz, to set up a call ahead of a meeting between the agency and Brazilian telecom regulator Anatel. Anatel at the time was mulling regulations that would impact Amazon and other Big Tech platforms. Kalutkiewicz previously served as USTR’s director for Brazil before joining Amazon.

An Amazon spokesperson defended the company’s conduct and said that “like many other American companies with significant domestic investments and job creation, we advocate on issues that are important to our customers and our sellers, and that includes maintaining open lines of communication with officials across all levels of government.”