DOJ Seeks Sanctions Over Deleted Google Texts in Antitrust Suit

Alphabet Inc.’s Google urged employees to discuss sensitive topics via chats that would be automatically deleted after 24 hours and the company should face penalties for failing to preserve records needed for an antitrust suit, Justice Department lawyers told a federal court.

Google assured the government’s lawyers that it was maintaining all records starting in November 2019, according to a Feb. 10 court filing that was unsealed Thursday. In practice, however, the government said company employees used “off-the-record” chats to discuss business and the lawsuit in Google Hangouts, a chat platform that lets users determine whether records are maintained ...