Internal Tech Emails: The Unvarnished Valley

Public RegisterOctober 2023

Sundar Pichai

CEO, Alphabet and Google · US v. Google Antitrust Trial Sworn Testimony

“Google fosters an open culture of discussion. We take document retention and legal compliance seriously across all executive communications.”

Private ArtifactOctober 12, 2021

Sundar Pichai to Google Leadership

executive communications · Internal email entered into DOJ trial evidence

“Also can we change the setting of this group to history off please.”

The Split:While Google proclaimed compliance and transparency in antitrust proceedings, CEO Sundar Pichai explicitly instructed colleagues in writing to toggle their executive group chat to history off to prevent creating discoverable records.

The Tell:When an executive abruptly interrupts a substantive business thread to request history off or take it to Signal, the preference falsification is operating in real time.

Pipe: courtEntered into evidence by the US Department of Justice in US v. Google.

Step 2 of 6walk-back

When tech companies profess indifference to competitors in public, their executive retreat agendas reveal the true strategic priority: total platform warfare designed to lock customers in.

walk-backtech-labor·2010 / unsealed 2011

2011: Holy War with Google

Public RegisterJune 2010

Steve Jobs

CEO, Apple · All Things Digital D8 Conference

“We never saw ourselves in a platform war with Google. They decided to compete with us, but we just focus on making great products that delight users.”

Private ArtifactOctober 24, 2010

Steve Jobs

CEO, Apple · Apple Top 100 Strategy Memo

“2011: Holy War with Google... all out effort to tie all our products together, further lock customers into our ecosystem... catch up to Android where we are behind (notifications, tethering, speech).”

The Split:Jobs insisted to journalists that Apple did not engage in platform wars and only focused on product delight. In his agenda for Apple’s most confidential executive retreat, the official headline for 2011 was a Holy War with Google explicitly aimed at locking customers into Apple’s ecosystem.

The Tell:Public statements that dismiss competition as an afterthought are usually accompanied by executive retreat agendas declaring holy war.

Pipe: courtUnsealed in Epic Games v. Apple and Samsung v. Apple discovery.

Step 3 of 6safety-theater

Publicly, App Store guidelines were justified on grounds of curation and equal security. Privately, Jobs ordered Amazon Kindle evicted unless they conceded a 30% toll.

safety-theatertech-labor·2010 / unsealed 2021

iBooks will be the only bookstore. Let’s make them pay.

Public Register2011

Phil Schiller

Senior VP Worldwide Product Marketing, Apple · Apple Official App Store Guidelines Press Briefing

“Our 30% fee is fair compensation for the incredible platform, security, and curation we offer. We treat every developer equally without playing favorites.”

Private ArtifactNovember 22, 2010

Steve Jobs to Phil Schiller & Eddy Cue

executive email exchange · Internal email thread unsealed in Epic v. Apple

“Jobs: I think this is all pretty simple: iBooks is going to be the only bookstore on iOS devices. We should tell Amazon: you either use our in-app payment and pay us 30%, or you can not be in the App Store. Let’s make them pay.”

The Split:Apple told developers and Congress that its 30% cut was a neutral curation fee applied equally for platform safety. In private, Jobs stated the exact anti-competitive goal: making iBooks the exclusive bookstore and forcing Amazon to hand over 30% or face eviction.

The Tell:When platform rules cite user security and equal treatment, check whether the rule was designed specifically to kneecap a competing digital service.

Pipe: courtUnsealed in Epic Games v. Apple antitrust litigation.

Step 4 of 6paper-trail

Mark Zuckerberg promoted end-to-end encryption while ordering engineers to use Onavo VPN software to execute man-in-the-middle decryption on Snapchat traffic.

paper-trailsocial·2016 / unsealed 2024

Project Ghostbusters: Decrypting Snapchat traffic via Onavo

Public Register2016

Mark Zuckerberg

CEO, Meta Platforms · Facebook F8 Keynote Address

“We believe deeply in user privacy, data security, and end-to-end encryption. Protecting our community’s data is the central priority across everything we build.”

Private ArtifactJune 9, 2016

Mark Zuckerberg to Javier Olivan

internal executive email · Internal email thread on Project Ghostbusters

“Whenever someone asks about Snapchat, the answer is that because their traffic is encrypted we have no analytics... Given how quickly they are growing, it seems important to figure out a new approach. Can we establish a kit using Onavo to decrypt their SSL traffic? You should figure out how to do this.”

The Split:While preaching end-to-end encryption and user data protection, Zuckerberg personally commissioned Project Ghostbusters—using Facebook’s Onavo VPN software to execute man-in-the-middle SSL decryption of Snapchat network traffic to spy on user interactions.

The Tell:The more passionately a platform champions encryption to regulators, the more likely its growth engineering team operates a proxy kit to intercept competitors.

Pipe: courtUnsealed in N.D. Cal. consumer advertising antitrust litigation.

Step 5 of 6testimony-gap

Elon Musk transitioned from public tweets about collaborative improvements to a private ultimatum in 96 hours: What did you get done this week? This is a waste of time.

testimony-gapsocial·2022

What did you get done this week? This is a waste of time.

Public RegisterApril 5, 2022

Elon Musk

prospective Twitter Director · Public Tweet & SEC Schedule 13D Filing

“Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!”

Private ArtifactApril 9, 2022

Elon Musk to Parag Agrawal

private text message · Delaware Chancery Court unsealed evidentiary text exhibits

“Musk: What did you get done this week? I am not joining the board. This is a waste of time. Will make an offer to take Twitter private.”

The Split:Within 96 hours of an SEC filing and celebratory public tweet praising Parag Agrawal, Musk sent an abrupt private text berating the CEO: What did you get done this week? I am not joining the board... this is a waste of time.

The Tell:Public declarations of enthusiasm from activist acquirers last only as long as their patience for board decorum.

Pipe: courtUnsealed in Delaware Court of Chancery (Twitter v. Musk).

Step 6 of 6euphemism

The master pattern of the platform era: Bill Gates describing browser bundling as customer convenience while privately vowing to cut off Netscape’s revenue air supply.

euphemismtech-labor·1996 / unsealed 1998

We are going to cut off their air supply

Public Register1998

Bill Gates

CEO, Microsoft Corporation · Public Press Conference & DOJ Deposition

“We integrate Internet Explorer into Windows purely for the convenience of our customers. Consumers benefit from free, innovative software seamlessly connected to the operating system.”

Private ArtifactJune 1996

Bill Gates

CEO, Microsoft Corporation · Internal Executive Strategy Memo

“We are going to cut off their air supply. Everything they are selling, we are going to give away for free until they suffocate and can no longer fund development.”