Justice Department announces that Google has destroyed evidence related to antitrust lawsuits



The US Department of Justice is suing Google for violating

antitrust laws (antitrust laws) to maintain its dominance in Internet searches. The Justice Department announced that Google intentionally destroyed documents related to this lawsuit to conceal evidence.

Justice Department Says Google Destroyed Evidence Related to Antitrust Lawsuit - WSJ
https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-says-google-destroyed-evidence-related-to-antitrust-lawsuit-5dad2d6

In January 2023, the US Department of Justice sued Google for violating antitrust laws in its advertising business . Earlier, in October 2020, Google was sued by the Justice Department for antitrust violations, alleging that it illegally maintained a monopoly through anti-competitive and exclusive practices in the Internet search and advertising market. .

Google is sued by the Justice Department for ``antitrust violations''-GIGAZINE



In this 2020 antitrust lawsuit in the Internet search business, Google set up automatic deletion of employee chats even though it told the court that it would keep the records necessary for the lawsuit. The Department of Justice announced on Thursday, February 23, 2020. The Justice Department is seeking sanctions against Google against the federal judge in charge of the lawsuit.

Google employees routinely discuss 'substantial and sensitive business' by using messaging software that is set to delete chat histories after 24 hours, the Justice Department said. pointed out.

In response, a Google spokesperson said, ``Our team has worked conscientiously for years to respond to inquiries and lawsuits. We have created more than 4 million documents and millions more for regulatory authorities around the world, ”he told the Wall Street Journal.



According to the Justice Department, in mid-2019, when Google would have anticipated the antitrust lawsuit, the Justice Department had already asked Google to stop automatically deleting chat history. However, a lawyer for the Department of Justice claims that Google has continued to let employees use the automatic chat history deletion setting even after the lawsuit was officially filed.

The deleted chats also contained information particularly relevant to the lawsuit, which, if retained, could have revealed candid discussions between Google executives about their dominance of the Internet search market. claims.

It should be noted that Google agreed to permanently store employee chat history after February 23, when the Justice Department asked a judge to impose sanctions on Google for deleting chat history. that's right.

in Note, Posted by logu_ii