Alphabet Inc's Google has denied intentionally destroying evidence in the U.S. 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 Justice Department last month alleged Google failed to preserve certain internal corporate "chat" communications. The DOJ said Google told U.S. investigators in 2019 that the company had put a hold on allowing auto-deletion of those instant messaging records.
Google said in Friday's filing that the company made "reasonable" efforts to preserve communication records.
The bid for sanctions stems from lawsuits filed by the DOJ and a group of more than 30 states accusing Google of unlawful exclusionary practices to maintain its search business dominance. Google has denied the claims. The case, filed in 2020, is set to go to trial in September.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on Monday. Lawyers for Google and a representative from the company did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
The Justice Department asked U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta to set a hearing regarding the sanctions, but the court has not yet scheduled one.
Mehta last year denied an earlier Justice Department bid for sanctions against Google over claims it was shielding too many documents from review.
In its latest bid for sanctions, the DOJ alleged "Google's daily destruction of written records-- excerpt, rest at link above --
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
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Tue Mar 21, 2023 9:49 am
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