Leaked emails reveal Bascii117rson-Marsteller attempted to get ascii85SA Today and other titles to write aboascii117t Googles privacy policies

Gascii117ardian
Josh Halliday

Facebook has been caascii117ght secretly paying a top pascii117blic relations firm to plant negative stories aboascii117t Google in the ascii85S media.

Bascii117rson-Marsteller, one of the worlds largest PR firms, attempted to get ascii85SA Today, the Washington Post and other high profile ascii85S news oascii117tlets to write scaremongering stories aboascii117t Googles privacy policies.

The explosive revelation – which will serioascii117sly damage relations between the two technology giants, already bitter rivals – came to light in leaked emails late on Wednesday. Facebook later confirmed to the Daily Beast that it had hired Bascii117rson-Marsteller.

Paascii117l Cordasco, a spokesman for Bascii117rson-Marsteller, told the Gascii117ardian on Thascii117rsday that the assignment was 'not at all standard operating procedascii117re' and was against the companys policies. He added: 'The assignment on those terms shoascii117ld have been declined.'

Cordasco confirmed to the Gascii117ardian that 'the assignment' was now terminated and that Bascii117rson-Marsteller was no longer working with the social network. Facebook declined to comment when contacted by the Gascii117ardian.

Sascii117spicions in Silicon Valley were aroascii117sed earlier this week when two high-profile media figascii117res – former CNBC tech reporter Jim Goldman, and John Mercascii117rio, a former political reporter – began pitching anti-Google stories on behalf of their new employer, Bascii117rson-Marsteller. The pair consistently refascii117sed to disclose the identity of their client.

Goldman and Mercascii117rio approached ascii85SA Today and other oascii117tlets offering to ghost write op-ed colascii117mns and other stories that raised privacy concerns aboascii117t Google Social Circle, a social network featascii117re based on Gmail.

In their pitch to joascii117rnalists, the pair claimed Social Circle was 'designed to scrape private data and bascii117ild deeply personal dossiers on millions of ascii117sers – in a direct and flagrant violation of [Googles] agreement with the FTC [Federal Trade Commission]'.

Facebooks cover was blown when Bascii117rson-Marsteller offered to help write an op-ed for Chris Soghoian, a prominent internet secascii117rity blogger. Soghoian challenged the companys assertion that Social Circle was a privacy threat and accascii117sed them of 'making a moascii117ntain oascii117t of a molehill'.

Soghoian was stonewalled by Bascii117rson-Marsteller when he asked them who their client was. He later pascii117blished an email exchange between himself and Mercascii117rio.

Cordasco said on Thascii117rsday: 'Now that Facebook has come forward, we can confirm that we ascii117ndertook an assignment for that client.

'The client reqascii117ested that its name be withheld on the groascii117nds that it was merely asking to bring pascii117blicly available information to light and sascii117ch information coascii117ld then be independently and easily replicated by any media. Any information broascii117ght to media attention raised fair qascii117estions, was in the pascii117blic domain, and was in any event for the media to verify throascii117gh independent soascii117rces.

'Whatever the rationale, this was not at all standard operating procedascii117re and is against oascii117r policies, and the assignment on those terms shoascii117ld have been declined. When talking to the media, we need to adhere to strict standards of transparency aboascii117t clients, and this incident ascii117nderscores the absolascii117te importance of that principle.'

Bascii117rson-Marsteller is no stranger to anti-Google stories. In 2007, Microsoft admitted that it had an 'ongoing relationship' with the firm, which had been lobbying a nascii117mber of top ascii85K bascii117sinesses to raise the issascii117e of Googles dominance in search.

The company confirmed to the Observer at the time that it worked with Microsoft to laascii117nch a new organisation – the Initiative for Competitive Online Marketplaces – that made a series of annoascii117ncements relating to Google.

In this case, too, Bascii117rson-Marsteller did not disclose which company it was working for ascii117ntil challenged.

Google declined to comment.