The antitrust case promises to affect the entire mobile gaming industry and the policies of IT companies.
In Epic Games ' landmark lawsuit against Google, Judge James Donato promised to investigate Google for intentionally and systematically withholding evidence, calling the company's conduct "a direct attack on fair judicial administration." Such a case is important not only for the future of the Android app store, but also for the general perception of the legal practice of large technology companies.
During the court hearings, it turned out that Google systematically deleted chat messages between its employees, including messages from top management — up to CEO Sundar Pichai. Moreover, even after realizing their legal obligation to preserve evidence, the company continued to delete messages.
Judge Donato emphasized the seriousness of the issue, saying that Google's behavior " undermines the foundations of fair trial and the principles of fair process." The judge expressed concern about this, noting that in his ten-year career, he had never encountered such deliberate destruction of relevant evidence.
Interestingly, Alphabet's chief legal officer, Kent Walker, who was called by Judge Donato to testify, also failed to meet the judge's requests, resulting in his testimony being characterized as"evasion of answers."
Equally important in this case is Judge Donato's decision not to issue a "mandatory inference instruction" to the jury, which would suggest that Google destroyed incriminating evidence. Instead, jurors were given the freedom to make their own conclusions about the missing evidence.
The case marks not only a critical moment in the relationship between major tech companies and the justice system, but also raises important questions about the preservation of digital evidence and the transparency of corporate practices. Judge Donato stressed that he intends to "get to the bottom of the truth", which could mean further legal consequences for Google in the future.
As a result of the court hearing, Google declined to comment on the situation, and the case of Epic against Google was completed. The final meeting is expected to be held on December 11.
The case in question is a lawsuit between Epic Games and Google. The main reason Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Google concerns allegations of antitrust violations related to the policy and operation of the Google Play app store on the Android platform.
Epic Games introduced its own payment system that bypassed the store's commission, which allowed players to purchase Fortnite in-game currency cheaper and download the game itself bypassing the Google Play Store. However, according to the rules of the Play Store, developers are required to use Google's payment services. Then a few hours later, Fortnite was banned from the App Store and Google Play. For this reason, Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Apple and Google, in which it accused the companies of total monopoly and tying hands.
In Epic Games ' landmark lawsuit against Google, Judge James Donato promised to investigate Google for intentionally and systematically withholding evidence, calling the company's conduct "a direct attack on fair judicial administration." Such a case is important not only for the future of the Android app store, but also for the general perception of the legal practice of large technology companies.
During the court hearings, it turned out that Google systematically deleted chat messages between its employees, including messages from top management — up to CEO Sundar Pichai. Moreover, even after realizing their legal obligation to preserve evidence, the company continued to delete messages.
Judge Donato emphasized the seriousness of the issue, saying that Google's behavior " undermines the foundations of fair trial and the principles of fair process." The judge expressed concern about this, noting that in his ten-year career, he had never encountered such deliberate destruction of relevant evidence.
Interestingly, Alphabet's chief legal officer, Kent Walker, who was called by Judge Donato to testify, also failed to meet the judge's requests, resulting in his testimony being characterized as"evasion of answers."
Equally important in this case is Judge Donato's decision not to issue a "mandatory inference instruction" to the jury, which would suggest that Google destroyed incriminating evidence. Instead, jurors were given the freedom to make their own conclusions about the missing evidence.
The case marks not only a critical moment in the relationship between major tech companies and the justice system, but also raises important questions about the preservation of digital evidence and the transparency of corporate practices. Judge Donato stressed that he intends to "get to the bottom of the truth", which could mean further legal consequences for Google in the future.
As a result of the court hearing, Google declined to comment on the situation, and the case of Epic against Google was completed. The final meeting is expected to be held on December 11.
The case in question is a lawsuit between Epic Games and Google. The main reason Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Google concerns allegations of antitrust violations related to the policy and operation of the Google Play app store on the Android platform.
Epic Games introduced its own payment system that bypassed the store's commission, which allowed players to purchase Fortnite in-game currency cheaper and download the game itself bypassing the Google Play Store. However, according to the rules of the Play Store, developers are required to use Google's payment services. Then a few hours later, Fortnite was banned from the App Store and Google Play. For this reason, Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Apple and Google, in which it accused the companies of total monopoly and tying hands.
