Google waited six months to tell WikiLeaks it passed employee data to FBI

Tech giant facing renewed questions about user data as WikiLeaks lawyer says 'The question I have is: what caused this six-month delay?'

Google is facing renewed questions about its handling of subscribers' private information following the revelation that it waited six months after the lifting of a gagging order to alert WikiLeaks that emails and other data belonging to its employees had been passed to the FBI.

It was disclosed last month that Google had cooperated with federal agents after the search giant was served with secret warrants demanding that it hand over all emails and IP addresses relating to three WikiLeaks staffers. The warrants named the British citizen Sarah Harrison; senior WikiLeaks editor Joseph Farrell and the spokesperson for the organisation, Kristinn Hrafnsson.