In a recent antitrust trial concerning Google’s Android app market, the Chief Legal Officer (CLO) of Google, Kent Walker, was subjected to stern criticism from a California federal judge. The judge has questioned Walker’s approach to evidence preservation, particularly the deletion of chat messages which could have held evidentiary value.
The spat took place when the judge ordered Walker to appear in court, addressing him with the statement, “You of all people should have known that there was no excuse for not preserving chats.”
This incident clearly underscores the significance of stringent evidence preservation practices in the realm of legal proceedings, especially in antitrust cases where large corporates like Google are involved.