Sundar Pichai

The EU sanctioned Android restrictions which it said were intended to protect Google's search engine; the General Court reduced the fine to €4.125 billion, and the Court of Justice dismissed the appeal on 2 July 2026.

State of the evidence

Documented

The Commission imposed a €1.49 billion fine in 2019 over exclusivity clauses; in 2024, the General Court annulled the decision and fine because of shortcomings in its analysis.

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Alphabet announced approximately 12,000 redundancies in January 2023; Pichai said he took full responsibility for earlier staffing growth decisions. In 2026, thousands of employees called for additional protections.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

A federal judge concluded in 2024 that Google was a monopolist and had unlawfully maintained its monopoly in general search and search advertising. Remedies ordered in 2025 limited certain exclusivity arrangements and required data sharing, without forcing a sale of Chrome.

State of the evidence

Documented

In April 2025, a federal judge found that Google had unlawfully acquired or maintained monopolies in publisher ad servers and ad exchanges. On 16 September 2026, the court imposed behavioural remedies including interoperability, data sharing, prohibitions on certain self-preferencing practices and six years of oversight.

State of the evidence

Documented

In 2023, a jury found that Google had unlawfully maintained monopolies in Android app distribution and in-app billing; a judge subsequently ordered substantial changes.

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Google and Amazon's cloud contract with the Israeli government prompted protests; in April 2024, Google dismissed 28 employees following sit-ins and occupation of offices.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Independent publishers accused AI Overviews of reusing their content while reducing clicks to source websites, without a practical way to opt out while remaining in Search.

Attribution

Direct responsibility

The European Commission fined Google a total of €890 million: €460 million for self-preferencing in Search and €430 million for restrictions related to Google Play.

State of the evidence

Documented

Investors allege that Pichai's response to Congress in 2020 portrayed ad auctions as agnostic about the channel through which bids arrived, although certain flows allegedly received preferential treatment. The class was certified in May 2026.

State of the evidence

Allegations

Attribution

Accused

More than 600 employees, including DeepMind staff, asked Pichai to reject any agreement permitting the Pentagon to use AI for classified purposes, citing autonomous weapons and mass surveillance.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

A Portuguese association filed a class action targeting YouTube, Meta and TikTok, alleging that certain features maximised engagement in addictive ways, particularly among minors.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

European organisations filed complaints against Google, Meta and TikTok, arguing that the platforms were not doing enough to prevent or detect fraudulent investment advertisements.

Attribution

Direct responsibility

During a cybersecurity test conducted in May 2026 by evaluator Irregular, a Gemini model was mistakenly given internet access and accessed three real systems which it believed were part of the test: once by guessing a password and twice by using credentials found in a public repository. The incident was made public on 18 September 2026.

State of the evidence

Confirmed

In February 2025, Google amended its public AI principles and removed the section explicitly excluding certain uses, including weapons and some forms of surveillance. The change followed the Project Maven and Nimbus controversies and marked a departure from the policy adopted in 2018.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

The EU sanctioned Google for favouring its comparison shopping service; in September 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union upheld the €2.42 billion fine after several years of appeals.

State of the evidence

Documented

Google agreed to delete billions of records and change its practices to settle an action alleging tracking of users in Incognito mode.

State of the evidence

Settlement

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Gemini generated historically inaccurate or absurd images in response to certain prompts, leading Google to suspend generation of images of people.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

The Indian government announced that it intended to send Google a notice following a response from Gemini about Prime Minister Modi which it considered problematic.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

The French Competition Authority sanctioned Google for failing to comply with commitments concerning neighbouring rights, notably using news content for Bard/Gemini without adequately informing publishers.

State of the evidence

Documented

Shortly after AI Overviews was rolled out in US Google Search, clearly incorrect or absurd responses went viral, including advice derived from satirical content or forums. Google acknowledged problematic cases, said some screenshots had been fabricated and also introduced changes: improved detection of nonsensical queries and satire, restrictions on user-generated content and adjustments for sensitive topics.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Google reached a $391.5 million settlement with 40 states following allegations of deceptive practices concerning location data collection when certain settings appeared to be disabled.

State of the evidence

Settlement

Attribution

Direct responsibility

In late 2019, Google dismissed four activist employees nicknamed the 'Thanksgiving Four'. They alleged retaliation for protected collective activity; Google instead cited repeated breaches of its security and data access rules. The NLRB subsequently brought proceedings concerning certain allegations, and several related disputes ended in settlements.

State of the evidence

Settlement

Timnit Gebru said she had been dismissed after a dispute over a paper and internal procedures; Google disputed that description. The case prompted employee mobilisation over research freedom, diversity and AI governance.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Thousands of employees participated in a walkout after revelations about the handling of harassment allegations, notably Andy Rubin's departure with a substantial severance payment. Shareholders subsequently sued Alphabet.

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Google and YouTube paid $170 million to settle allegations that YouTube had unlawfully collected children's personal data without parental consent.

State of the evidence

Settlement

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Thousands of employees protested against the use of Google technology to analyse military drone imagery; more than 6,000 signed a petition and several resigned.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Employees and NGOs condemned Project Dragonfly, an exploratory project for a search engine compatible with Chinese censorship, criticising secrecy and human rights risks.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Google disclosed that a Google+ bug had potentially exposed data and that the company had not immediately announced the incident; Pichai had been informed of the internal response plan. A second bug subsequently accelerated the service's closure.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Google dismissed James Damore following a memo attributing women's underrepresentation in part to biological differences; Pichai said that some passages crossed the line by promoting harmful stereotypes.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility