WASHINGTON, DC – Today, amid testimony from Google CEO Sundar Pichai, The Tech Oversight Project calls Judge Mehta to hold Google accountable for intentionally-deleted communications that cover up Google’s anticompetitive practices and malfeasance. Earlier this month in the Google Play trial, Judge Donatos announced that he will instruct jurors that they can make “adverse inferences” to Google when they consider the potential impacts of those deleted communications – meaning they can assume that when C-Suite executives like CEO Pichai ordered employees to delete internal texts, it was because they contained potentially damaging information.
Judge Mehta has not yet communicated how he will decide to treat such documents in the Google Search trial, which was highlighted heavily during today’s examination of Pichai. Read Judge Donatos’ jury instructions here, and MLex’s coverage here. For further reading, check out the Tech Oversight Project’s report about how Google has manipulated and abused the legal system for years.
“Sundar Pichai’s testimony puts into clearer focus that at the most senior levels, Google directed its employees to delete and conceal communications to cover up its illegal actions and anticompetitive practices, and Judge Amit Mehta needs to hold CEO Sundar Pichai accountable for this intentional malfeasance,” said Kyle Morse, Deputy Executive Director of The Tech Oversight Project. “In the Google Play trial, Judge Donatos’ jury instructions rightfully calls out Google’s intent and deliberate actions to violate the law and circumvent investigators. We cannot allow illegal behavior to go unpunished, and Judge Mehta should publicly express how he will treat these documents in the Google Search trial.”