VOA科学技术2023--Google's Search Engine at Center of Antitrust Trial

Google's Search Engine at Center of Antitrust Trial

The U.S. Department of Justice accuses Google Tuesday of using its internet search engine to push out competitors and limit new ideas.

Kenneth Dintzer is the Justice Department's lead lawyer. He said, "This case is about the future of the internet and whether Google's search engine will ever face meaningful competition."

Over the next 10 weeks, federal lawyers and state attorneys general will try to prove that Google unfairly controls the market in its favor by making its search engine the first choice in software and on devices that people use every day.

The case is similar to the antitrust trial brought against computer software maker¹ Microsoft in 1998. At that time, the government accused Microsoft of using its strength in software to force computer makers² to use its other products, including the Internet Explorer web browser³. The case ended with restrictions⁴ to prevent Microsoft from having total control of the marketplace.

Many Google products including the Chrome web browser, Gmail, YouTube, and online maps are extremely popular. But none have controlled the market and become as valuable as its internet search engine.

The government accuses Google of paying billions of dollars yearly to make its search engine the first choice on the iPhone and web browsers⁵ such as Apple's Safari⁶ and Mozilla's Firefox. The legal action notes that Google also requires its search engine to be a part of the Android operating system used by smartphones of many manufacturers.

Dintzer said, "This is Google saying: Take it or leave it." He said that Google's moves prevented Apple from developing a search engine of its own.

Google argues that it faces many competitors although it controls about 90 percent of the internet search market. The company says it faces competition from search engines such as Microsoft's Bing and DuckDuckGo and websites like Amazon and Yelp⁷. These websites let users ask questions about what to buy or where to go.

The company also argues that it faces competition from new technology like artificial intelligence (AI). Microsoft, for example, is adding AI abilities from its partner Open AI to its Bing search engine. That move in early February forced Goggle⁸ to equip its search engine with results that come from AI-aided processes.

Google says users can always use any other search engine. But continuous improvements to its search engine are the reason why users keep coming back. It is a process that made the name Google synonymous with looking things up on the internet.

However, critics say the quality of search results has decreased. They note that Google uses its engine to sell advertisements. The company brings attention to its products over those of competitors.

Today, the stock market value of Google's parent company, Alphabet, is $1.7 trillion. The company employs 182,000 people. Most of the money Google makes comes from $224 billion in yearly ad sales. The sales come through a network of digital services that are linked by the search engine, which answers billions of requests a day.

Words in This Story

antitrust –adj. related to cases brought by a government against a company that appears to control so much of a market that it prevents normal market competition

synonymous –adj. having the same meaning as

1 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

2 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 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

6 safari   

n.远征旅行(探险、考察)；探险队，狩猎队

参考例句：

• When we go on safari we like to cook on an open fire.我们远行狩猎时，喜欢露天生火做饭。
• They went on safari searching for the rare black rhinoceros.他们进行探险旅行，搜寻那稀有的黑犀牛。

7 yelp   

vi.狗吠

参考例句：

• The dog gave a yelp of pain.狗疼得叫了一声。
• The puppy a yelp when John stepped on her tail.当约翰踩到小狗的尾巴，小狗发出尖叫。

8 goggle   

n.瞪眼，转动眼珠，护目镜；v.瞪眼看，转眼珠

参考例句：

• His insincerity is revealed by the quick goggle of his eyes.他眼睛的快速转动泄露了他的不诚实。
• His eyes seemed to goggle larger than usual behind the heavy lenses.在厚厚的镜片后面，眼睛瞪得比平时大得多。