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Comment by dang | Hacker News Reader

There's nothing wrong with a Google employee participating in a Google-related discussion (edit: I mean in an HN thread of course), same as with any company. It's nice if they say so, which jefftk did.

Edit: I misread. Corrected below. Sorry!

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I'm pretty sure they mean it's a bad idea from Google's perspective, not Hacker News'

Oh, I think you're right. I'm too used to certain types of internet reflexes. Sorry GP!

I would edit your initial comment because to many it will read as if you understood it as Google’s perspective, and still Okayed

Ok, I did that. Thanks!

Nothing wrong with that, sure, but making comments related to ongoing antitrust litigation against company employing you, while not being any official spokesperson and not having your comments vetted by legal and PR, can be really, really detrimental to one's career if Google decides that it doesn't like your comments. Google is very explicit in its internal trainings to never make any public comments like that unless you're officially empowered to do so. You can say or write anything you want on HN... on the last day at your job.

I worked at Microsoft in Europe and we never had such training. Is this only in the US?

Yes, in the EU employees are more protected and it is much more limited what an employer are legally allowed to do. In fact they have to prove that your intention was malicious.

There's probably better protection against random terminations on average in Europe than in America.

Would whistleblower protections apply in this case?

No, why would they? He's not whistleblowing. The commenter even admits that he has no context on the link in question and just suspects it's what's being implicated.

I've been given formal warning for that, others have been fired. It made it front page of HN. I don't think that's wise advice in all cases dang.

Dan, that's like asking a Google employee to basically get themselves fired. It's not something we should encourage, for their own benefit.

Nothing wrong for HN, but definitely risky as an employee.

It seems possible that in the history of internet forums, some of them might occasionally receive subpoenas because forum members posted something essential to one side's case in some litigation. It also seems possible that some of those forums receiving subpoenas would rather not deal with the burden of responding.

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