Google Denies Destroying ‘Chat’ Evidence in US Antitrust Lawsuit

Google Denies Destroying ‘Chat’ Evidence in US Antitrust Lawsuit
The logo for Google LLC at the Google Store Chelsea in Manhattan, New York, on Nov. 17, 2021. Andrew Kelly/Reuters
Reuters
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Alphabet Inc.’s Google has denied intentionally destroying evidence in the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit over the company’s search business, in a response to the government’s bid for sanctions in federal court.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) last month alleged Google failed to preserve certain internal corporate “chat” communications. The DOJ said Google told investigators in 2019 that the company had put a hold on allowing auto-deletion of those instant messaging records.