美国国家公共电台 NPR 美国司法部向谷歌发起反垄断诉讼 称其排挤竞争对手

The U.S. Justice Department and 11 states are suing Google, accusing it of squeezing out competitors and monopolizing¹ Internet search. The government says the tech giant is hurting consumers by making it hard for rival search engines to gain a foothold. NPR's Shannon Bond covers Google, which we should note is among NPR's financial supporters.

美国司法部和11个州将起诉谷歌，指控谷歌排挤竞争对手、垄断互联网搜索业务。政府表示，这家科技巨头使竞争对手的搜索引擎难以立足，从而对消费者造成损害。NPR新闻的香农·邦德负责报道谷歌相关新闻，我们应该指出，谷歌是NPR新闻的资助者之一。

Hi, Shannon.

你好，香农。

SHANNON BOND, BYLINE²: Hi, Tonya.

香农·邦德连线：你好，托尼娅。

MOSLEY: So how does the government allege³ Google is hurting its competitors?

莫斯利：政府为何宣称谷歌在伤害其竞争对手？

BOND: Well, in short, it says Google is abusing its power. And this case is really all about Google's dominance. The Justice Department says about 80% of Internet searches in the U.S. go through Google, and that number is even bigger on mobile phones. And that's because Google has spent a lot of money over the years to be the default search engine on many browsers⁴ and phones, like Apple iPhones. And the government says that's made it hard for other companies to compete. Here's U.S. Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen.

邦德：简言之，政府称谷歌在滥用权力。这个案子实际上涉及谷歌的统治地位。美国司法部表示，美国大约80%的互联网搜索都是通过谷歌进行的，而这一比例在手机搜索方面甚至更高。这是因为谷歌多年来花费了大量资金，在众多浏览器和手机上成为默认搜索引擎，比如苹果的iPhone手机。政府表示，这使得其他公司很难参与竞争。以下是美国司法部副部长杰夫·罗森所说。

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JEFF ROSEN: If the government does not enforce the antitrust laws to enable competition, we could lose the next wave of innovation. If that happens, Americans may never get to see the next Google.

杰夫·罗森：如果政府不执行反垄断法来促进竞争，我们可能会错过下一波创新浪潮。而这样一来，美国人可能永远看不到下一个谷歌的出现。

MOSLEY: How is Google responding to these charges?

莫斯利：谷歌对这些指控作何回应？

BOND: Well, it says this lawsuit⁵ is deeply flawed. You know, it says people aren't forced to use Google. They choose to use it because it's the best search engine. And Google also says these contracts we're talking about to be the default search provider aren't unfair. It compares it to a company that makes cereal paying a supermarket for, you know, better placement on the shelf. And that — you know, that doesn't mean that other cereal isn't also there on the shelf for you to buy. So Google says consumers can and do choose which search engine they want to use.

邦德：谷歌称这起诉讼存在严重缺陷。谷歌表示，人们并没有被迫使用谷歌。而是他们选择使用谷歌，因为谷歌是最好的搜索引擎。谷歌还表示，我们所谈论的为成为默认搜索服务提供商而签订的合同是公平的。谷歌将自已比作付钱给超市以便使谷类食品放在货架更显眼位置上的公司。这并不意味着货架上没有其他谷类食品可供购买。因此谷歌表示，消费者可以选择他们想要使用的搜索引擎。

MOSLEY: OK, Shannon, but I bet if I were to ask one of these other search engines, they would actually say Google doesn't make it easy for them.

莫斯利：好，香农，但我敢肯定，如果我询问其他的搜索引擎，他们会说谷歌使他们不容易得到消费者的选择。

BOND: That's right. So, you know, on many phones, as we've said, Google search is the default because of these contracts. That's especially true of phones that run on Google's Android software, which is the majority of phones in the world. I spoke⁶ to Gabriel Weinberg. He's the CEO of DuckDuckGo, another search engine. And he says it takes a lot of steps to change all the default settings there. And people — a lot of people just don't do that. And Weinberg says that's why his company has only been able to get about 2% market share in search.

邦德：没错。所以，正如我们所说，由于这些合同，谷歌是许多手机的默认搜索引擎。尤其是那些运行谷歌安卓软件的手机，而世界上大多数手机都使用安卓系统。我采访了加布里埃尔·温伯格。他是另一个搜索引擎DuckDuckGo的首席执行官。他说，要更改所有默认设置需要很多步骤。许多人不会这样做。温伯格说，这就是其公司只能在搜索领域获得2%市场份额的原因。

GABRIEL WEINBERG: But if it was really one click, like Google itself says it should be, we think that 2% would be easily 20% today.

加布里埃尔·温伯格：但如果只需要点击一下就能更改默认设置，就像谷歌所称的那样，我们认为2%的市场份额可以轻易地变成20%。

BOND: So Weinberg says it should be easier to change search providers. And we should also note here that DuckDuckGo is also a financial supporter of NPR.

邦德：因此，温伯格表示，更换搜索服务提供商应该更加容易。我们同样要指出，DuckDuckGo也是NPR新闻的资助者。

MOSLEY: So what could this lawsuit mean? Is Google going to be broken up?

莫斯利：那这起诉讼意味着什么？谷歌会被拆分吗？

BOND: That's really the big question. And, you know, the Justice Department's lawsuit doesn't get into specifics, but officials have said all options are on the table. That could mean pushing Google to split off some businesses. But, you know, this is going to take a long time. If we look back to the last big antitrust lawsuit against a tech giant — that was Microsoft in the 1990s — that took years to resolve. So this is a long road we're going to be on.

邦德：这是个重要问题。司法部提起的诉讼没有涉及具体细节，但官员表示，所有的选择都摆在桌面上。这可能意味着推动谷歌剥离部分业务。但是，这需要很长时间。我们可以回顾一下上一次针对科技巨头的反垄断诉讼，即上世纪90年代对微软提起的诉讼，这起诉讼耗时数年才得以解决。因此，我们还有很长的路要走。

MOSLEY: And, you know, in the meantime, we're just two weeks away from the election. Is it possible the timing⁷ of this suit is also politically motivated?

莫斯利：同时，现在离选举只剩两周时间。这起诉讼的时间点是否也有政治动机？

BOND: Well, there certainly have been questions over why the Department of Justice is filing this suit now. You know, we have heard the Trump⁸ administration talk a lot about cracking down on big tech. Justice officials say, you know, this is the result of a 16-month-long investigation⁹. It's not driven by any kind of political schedule or considerations. But I think the backdrop to this is there has been the real change in Washington after years of this hands-off approach to the tech industry. Now Republicans and Democrats¹⁰ are much more skeptical¹¹ about the power of these big companies.

邦德：当然有人质疑司法部为何现在提起诉讼。我们听到特朗普政府谈论了很多关于打击大型科技公司的言论。司法官员表示，这是长达16个月的调查所得出的结果。不受任何政治计划或考虑的驱使。但我认为，目前的背景情况是，多年来，美国政府对科技行业采取了不干涉的做法，但现在已经发生了真正的变化。现在共和党人和民主党人对这些大公司的影响力更为怀疑。

MOSLEY: Definitely a lot to follow here. That's NPR's Shannon Bond.

莫斯利：肯定有很多需要关注的地方。以上是NPR新闻的香农·邦德带来的报道。

Thank you so much.

非常谢谢你。

BOND: Thanks, Tonya.

邦德：谢谢，托尼娅。

1 monopolizing   

v.垄断( monopolize的现在分词 )；独占；专卖；专营

参考例句：

• United States antitrust legislation prohibits corporations from dominating or monopolizing an industry. 美国反托拉斯法禁止公司控制或垄断一项工业。 来自辞典例句
• Only nobody else must be kind to him: I'm jealous of monopolizing his affection. 可就是用不着别人对他慈爱：我一心要独占他的感情。 来自辞典例句

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

4 browsers   

浏览器

参考例句：

• Three-layer architecture is a model made up of browser, web server and background database server. 这种体系结构是由Browser、Web Server、Database Server组成的浏览器／Web服务器／后台数据库服务器三层模型。 来自互联网
• Another excellent approach is to abandon the browser entirely and, instead, create a non-browser-based, Internet-enabled application. 另一个非常好的方法是干脆放弃浏览器，取而代之，创建一个不基于浏览器，但却是基于互联网的应用。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

5 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

8 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。