The U.S. Department of Justice is currently engaged in an antitrust trial against Google, focusing on the company’s alleged monopoly in the ad tech industry. The government argues that Google has abused its control over ad technology and violated antitrust laws, partly through its acquisition of DoubleClick in 2008. According to the DOJ, Google has pushed up ad prices and harmed publishers by taking a substantial cut of each ad sale.
The company has allegedly shut out rivals by locking publishers into using its seller-side platform to access its large advertiser demand, making it difficult for publishers to switch platforms. As the trial progresses, the DOJ is also making a case that Google deliberately destroyed evidence that might have reflected poorly on the company. This assertion stems from Google employees labeling their emails as “privileged and confidential” and discussing work “off the record” in chat messages, even after being instructed to preserve all communications for investigators.
Former Google sell-side ad executive Chris LaSala testified that Google’s default chat settings had history off, a setting that had to be manually changed for each chat involving substantive work discussions.
Google’s alleged ad tech dominance
LaSala himself used this default setting strategically, directing employees to discuss sensitive issues through chat with history turned off.
The DOJ questioned former Google executive Rahul Srinivasan about marking emails as privileged and confidential, highlighting Google’s internal “Communicate with Care” legal training, which emphasized caution in written communications. Google spokesperson Peter Schottenfels asserted in a statement, “We take seriously our obligations to preserve and produce relevant documents. We have for years responded to inquiries and litigation and educate our employees about legal privilege.
In the DOJ cases alone, we have produced millions of documents, including chat messages and documents not covered by legal privilege.”
The trial, taking place in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, is expected to last about four weeks. After that, Judge Leonie Brinkema could take several months to make a decision. The stakes are high, as the government has asked for a breakup of the company, requiring Google to sell off some assets.
As the trial unfolds, Google’s practices and the extent of its adherence to legal hold requirements remain under intense scrutiny, with potential significant implications for the company and the ad tech industry as a whole.
