She replied: "It's illegal for me to ask anything about your salary history. It's not illegal to ask about your expectations."
A rose by any other name, though...
If I think I've been underpaid in the past, I can just start naming a new salary expectation but I can't rewrite my salary history.
In any event, I think it's also always OK for the applicant to say "I'd rather not say."
This is not talking with a friend, making pleasantries. This is at work, getting paid, by a company, to learn how low an offer they can make for it to be accepted.
Pretending that the conversation is anything except that, is serving the interests of companies who try to do exactly that.
Telling someone that what they perceive is not what it is, that what others can perceive is not what it is, is like flickering the lights on and off, and saying nothing is wrong, and asking why someone is so upset.
My point was that there is still plenty of space within the bounds of law and politeness for you to compromise your negotiating position to a prospective employer. That's all. : )
Perhaps that's the norm where they come from? Maybe they heard Google paid that much? Maybe they were just throwing out a high number to anchor high?
It's funny to imagine the interview game being like the dating game teenagers talk about, where one wrong move, facial expression, or word uttered can wreck everything.