DOJ Likely to Scrutinize Personal Device and Corporate Chat Policies of Investigation Targets

By: Alyse Stach (Baker Hostetler Antitrust Advocate)

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has recently filed a number of motions and policy memos. Taken together, these documents send the signal that the agency is setting its sights on a new source of information for uncovering evidence of anticompetitive or criminal activities across various areas. This creates a new obligation for companies, who should be reviewing their personal and corporate chat preservation policies and ensuring they have the ability to come up with ‘the goods’ should a government agency investigation or civil lawsuit come calling.

The agency went on to revise its enforcement policies and practices in September 2022. The changes in policy make clear that the Department of Justice will not be turning a lenient eye towards preservation and discovery abuses related to antitrust cases and investigations. The changes in policy can be expected to have ripple effects across industries and have knock-on effects on private litigation as well…

CONTINUE READING…