Judge Overturns Economic Espionage Convictions in Google AI Secrets Case

A US federal judge has overturned the most serious convictions against former Google engineer Linwei Ding, ruling that prosecutors failed to prove he intended to benefit the Chinese government when he stole sensitive artificial intelligence secrets. The partial decision significantly reduces the potential prison time Ding faces, though he remains convicted on multiple charges of trade secret theft.

Judge Vince Chhabria of the US District Court in San Francisco issued the ruling on August 20, 2026. He threw out seven counts of economic espionage, each of which carried a maximum 15-year prison sentence, finding the evidence insufficient to link Ding’s actions to the Chinese government. However, the judge upheld seven counts of theft of trade secrets, a crime that does not require a foreign state connection. Each of those counts carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

Ding, a Chinese national also known as Leon Ding, was found guilty in January 2026 after an 11-day trial. Prosecutors presented evidence that he copied thousands of pages of confidential Google information before leaving the company. The stolen data included details on Google’s hardware infrastructure and the software...