In Washington, a key trial against Google Corporation, accused of antitrust violations, is nearing its conclusion. During the recent hearings, prosecutors alleged that the company intentionally destroyed certain evidence by deleting internal correspondence among its employees (source: Ars Technica).
According to the US Department of Justice, Google allegedly advised its employees to disable chat history preservation when discussing sensitive topics like revenue distribution agreements and mobile app distribution agreements. Prosecutors argue that these actions helped Google strengthen its dominant position in the search systems market.
During the proceedings, Justice Department lawyer Kenneth Dintser emphasized that Google’s behavior was anti-competitive and aimed at concealing violations of antitrust laws. Judge Amit Mehta expressed surprise at Google’s storage policy and questioned how such a large company could implement such practices.
Google’s attorney, Kolette Connor, countered that the absence of chat logs was irrelevant to the case as it did not contain new information. However, the court challenged this assertion, stressing the importance of understanding what specific information was deleted.
Dintser also raised concerns about Google only informing the Texas attorney general without sharing crucial information with the federal government, alleging non-compliance with federal civil procedure rules on information disclosure.
Judge Mehta is expected to issue a verdict at the end of summer or early fall this year. If Google is found guilty, the court could potentially order the company to divest some of its businesses and impose sanctions for evidence destruction.