Google’s Pichai Refutes DOJ Allegations of Deleting Evidence

Employees kept chat history ‘off’ to auto-delete messages
CEO said he ‘very rarely’ has chats set to disappear

Sundar Pichai exits federal court in Washington, on Oct. 30.Photographer: Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg

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By Leah Nylen and Davey Alba

October 30, 2023 at 6:40 PM UTC

Updated on

October 31, 2023 at 1:58 PM UTC

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Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai sought to defend himself against US government accusations that he has encouraged internal communications to be hidden from enforcers scrutinizing the company for antitrust violations.

Testifying in the landmark Justice Department competition case on Monday, Pichai said he “very rarely” changes settings so that his chat records are deleted after 24 hours. He also acknowledged that he sometimes adds lawyers to his emails to ensure they are treated confidentially — not necessarily because he is seeking legal advice.