Google must cough up its list of paid commenters

First things first: no one at Marketplace Tech Report has been paid to say nice things about Google. To prove this, please note the many not nice things we’ve said about Google and please note the fact that we don’t sleep each night on piles of million dollar bills like Googlers do.

A judge has ordered Google to be more forthcoming about where its spending its money to get nice things said about it in the media. This is part of the settling up of Google’s lawsuit with Oracle.

From The Hill:

U.S. District Judge William Alsup said Google must submit a list by Aug. 24 that includes “all commenters known by Google to have received payments as consultants, contractors, vendors or employees.” Alsup said Google does not need to disclose gifts to universities or advertising revenue received by commenters.
“Google suggests that it has paid so many commenters that it will be impossible to list them all,” Alsup wrote in his order. “Please simply do your best but the impossible is not required. Oracle managed to do it.”