Transparency Concerns Arise as DOJ Limits Access to Key Google Antitrust Evidence

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has made a contentious move by removing public access to crucial evidence in its antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google. 

This decision has raised concerns about transparency in the landmark case. 

Google had previously challenged the government's practice of posting documents online, resulting in a more challenging trial for the public than past high-profile antitrust cases, such as the one against Microsoft Corp MSFT in the 1990s, Bloomberg reports.

Also Read: Antitrust Trial Exposes Google's Battle Against Amazon for Advertising Supremacy

During the trial, the Justice Department published exhibits used in court, which were otherwise accessible only to those attending in person. However, the DOJ removed the section on trial exhibits with links to these documents from its website. 

The exhibits were likely to become part of the public record eventually. However, Google raised concerns that this would expose sensitive information, such as employees' email addresses and phone numbers.

In contrast, the Microsoft trial lasted over eight months and garnered extensive media attention.

In the current case, Google objected to including certain documents as exhibits, arguing that they were irrelevant. 

Google drew regulatory attention for alleged manipulation of ad auctions, driving up the prices, including maintaining a monopoly over online search through deals worth over $10 billion annually with web browsers and smartphone manufacturers.

Price Action: GOOG shares traded lower by 1.58% at $132.46 on the last check Thursday.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.