Tech Titans and the Shadowy Use of Attorney-Client Privilege: A New Legal Frontier?

Big Tech's Abuse of Attorney-Client Privilege

Big tech companies, including Apple, Google, and Amazon, are increasingly using attorney-client privilege as a legal tactic to hide or delay the submission of crucial documents in high-stakes lawsuits. This practice has been criticized for its potential to skew court decisions and protect executives from scrutiny.

Apple's App Store Fight with Epic Games

• Deception in Court: Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple violated a 2021 injunction to remove anti-steering barriers. Apple's VP of Finance, Alex Roman, was found to have lied under oath about internal discussions on commission fees.
• Withholding Documents: Apple withheld documentation of a June 2023 meeting involving CEO Tim Cook concerning the 2021 court order. The existence of this meeting was only revealed in 2025.
• Consequences: Judge Rogers referred the case for potential criminal contempt charges against Roman and Apple.

Amazon's FTC Case

• Systemic Abuse: In a lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission, Amazon allegedly withheld thousands of business records, including some that impacted founder Jeff Bezos. The FTC referred to this as a 'systemic abuse of privilege.'
• Withdrawal and Compliance: Amazon later withdrew 92% of its legal claims and produced approximately 70,000 previously withheld documents.

Google's Fight with Epic Games

• Evidence Preservation Failures: Google was ruled to have failed to properly preserve evidence for the case. Internal chat messages that should have been saved were not.
• Evasive Testimony: Alphabet’s top lawyer testified that Google took evidence preservation seriously, but the judge called this testimony evasive and inconsistent with other witnesses.

Legal Culture of Lawlessness

• Encouraged Behavior: Former FTC deputy director John Newman argues that lawyers should be telling companies off for such behavior but are instead encouraging it, creating a 'culture of lawlessness.'
• Rich Privilege: Antitrust lawyer Megan Gray suggests that the lawyers employed by big tech feel invulnerable to consequences due to their high pay and status.

The penalties for disobeying court orders seem lesser compared to the potential damages revealed through evidence, leading these companies to continue such practices despite the risks.