Google’s legal troubles appeared to worsen yesterday as the judge of the adtech antitrust trial delivered sharp criticism of the tech giant, signaling possible consequences for its business practices.
What happened: During the pre-trial motion hearings, Judge Leonie Brinkema sharply criticized Google for its handling of privileged information, labeling the company’s actions as “absolutely inappropriate and not proper.”
The court singled out the so-called ‘Walker Memo,’ containing what she referred to as “incredible smoking guns,” as evidence of potential wrongdoing.
The ‘Walker Memo’ refers to a 2008 memo by Google’s chief legal officer, Kent Walker, who created a “communication with care” policy. This policy advised employees to switch sensitive litigation-related chats to “history off” mode, automatically deleting chats within 24 hours, according to court documents.
The judge also condemned Google’s practice of auto-deleting chats, mockingly referred to by employees as “Vegas mode,” implying that the company may have intentionally destroyed evidence.
Why we care. If Google is found to have engaged in anticompetitive practices, it could lead to significant changes in the digital advertising landscape. That could include changes in pricing and bidding models, and possibly increased competition from other platforms.