export_ofoct.com

[00:00.38] A court in the United States is hearing evidence in a case against search engine provider Google.

[00:09.42] The government accuses the company of using illegal methods to crush business competitors.

[00:18.71] The U.S. Department of Justice is leading the case against Google in a court in Washington, D.C.

[00:28.54] The trial could change the way Google is permitted to do business in the future.

[00:35.98] The case is one of the biggest antitrust trials in American history.

[00:42.62] Antitrust is a term relating to laws designed to prevent illegal competition.

[00:50.86] If the trial judge rules in favor of the government, the resulting punishment could lead to new online search possibilities for individual users and businesses.

[01:06.53] Google's search engine earned a huge market share by helping people quickly connect to the wealth of information available on the internet.

[01:19.81] Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin developed the search technology in the late 1990s.

[01:30.43] The Justice Department argues that Google has an unfair advantage in the market because its search engine is the default choice on the world’s most popular smartphones and web browsers.

[01:48.49] Witnesses from device makers, service providers and Google recently testified about one way the company’s search engine is able to remain the default choice.

[02:03.90] They said the company pays an estimated $10 billion yearly to phone makers and other businesses in exchange for the default position.

[02:17.71] In opening arguments, Justice Department lawyer Kenneth Dintzer said, "This case is about the future of the internet and whether Google will ever face meaningful competition in search."

[02:35.24] Google has denied accusations that it uses unlawful methods to keep its huge market share.

[02:44.81] It says its search engine is wildly popular across the world because it offers users a high level of quality.

[02:56.49] Google lawyers have also argued that any users not happy with its search services can easily change to competitors.

[03:08.18] But industry experts point out that many users choose to keep Google as the default so they do not have to take additional steps to change it.

[03:21.46] Research has shown that because of this ease, very few people change the default setting of Google.

[03:30.23] The chief executives from two privacy-centered search engines, DuckDuckGo and Neeva, have argued that the default system favors Google and hurts their businesses.

[03:45.90] Neeva closed its operations earlier this year.

[03:50.95] Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also testified that Google has established a strong hold over users over the years.

[04:03.42] “You get up in the morning, you brush your teeth and you search on Google,” Nadella said.

[04:10.60] He added that the only way to break this dependence is to remove Google as the default choice.

[04:19.90] To solve this problem, industry experts say the judge may order a requirement for smartphones and web browsers to present a series of search engines to users during the setup process.

[04:38.76] This is already being done in Europe.

[04:43.01] But research shows that so far, most European users are still choosing to go with Google.

[04:51.78] Florian Schaub is a professor of information at the University of Michigan who has studied people’s online behavior.

[05:02.93] He says the fairest result in the trial would be a total ban on default agreements between technology companies.

[05:13.82] Schaub spoke to the Associated Press.

[05:17.80] He said the current search environment is being shaped “by the big companies that control the space.”

[05:26.83] He added, “What the government can do is inject some neutralism into this and give consumers some actual choices.”

[05:37.98] Earlier this month, a Justice Department lawyer accused Google in court of using unfair methods to push up internet advertising prices.

[05:50.73] The government argues that “Google now controls the digital tool that nearly every major website publisher uses to sell ads on their websites.”

[06:04.02] The Justice Department accuses Google of using unfair methods to control online auctions that connect buyers and sellers of online advertising.

[06:18.09] By making small changes to the auction system, Google can drive ad prices up to make more money, government lawyers say.

[06:30.58] Advertisers and website publishers have long criticized Google's ad business as being too complex and secretive.