UNIVERSIDAD DE QUILMES
INFORMÁTICA - INGLÉS
Trabajo Práctico # 9
1) Read the text carefully and answer the questions below.
a- What is Google accused of?
b- Which are the cornerstones of its empire?
c- In which way did Google call the suit?
d- What was Donald Trump’s opinion?
e- What did The Chief Legal Officer say about this suit?
2) Analyse the connector AND (highlighted in yellow). Explain what ideas are connected.
3) Analyse the reference ITS. What does it refer to?
4) Write one sentence in Passive voice (from the text). What does it mean?
5) A victory for the government could remake one of America’s
most recognizable companies define since it was founded
Read this extract end explain the meaning here of the modal verb COULD. What does it
mean?
U.S. Accuses Google of Illegally
Protecting Monopoly
A victory for the government could remake one of America’s most
recognizable companies and the internet economy that it has helped
define.
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department accused Google on Tuesday
of illegally protecting its monopoly over search and search advertising,
the government’s most significant challenge to a tech company’s
market power in a generation and one that could reshape the way
consumers use the internet.
In a much-anticipated lawsuit, the agency accused Google of locking up
deals with giant partners like Apple and throttling competition through
exclusive business contracts and agreements.
Google’s deals with Apple, mobile carriers and other handset makers to
make its search engine the default option for users accounted for most
of its dominant market share in search, the agency said, a figure that it
put at around 80 percent.
“For many years,” the agency said in its 57-page complaint, “Google
has used anticompetitive tactics to maintain and extend its monopolies
in the markets for general search services, search advertising and
general search text advertising — the cornerstones of its empire.”
Attorney General William P. Barr had spoken publicly about the
investigation for months. He urged the agency to file a case by the end
of September, prompting resistance from some of its lawyers who
wanted more time and complained of political motivations.
Google called the suit “deeply flawed.” But the agency’s action
signalled a new era for the technology sector. It reflects pent-up and
bipartisan frustration toward a handful of companies — Google,
Amazon, Apple and Facebook in particular — that have evolved from
small and scrappy companies into global powerhouses with outsize
influence over commerce, speech, media and advertising. Conservatives
like President Trump and liberals like Senator Elizabeth Warren have
called for more restraints over Big Tech.
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, will
also be a major test of antitrust law. Many Democrats argue that the
laws need to be adjusted to account for the digital era, when many
products are free and it can be more difficult to prove the harm to
consumers from a company’s firm grip on a market.
A victory for the government could remake one of America’s most
recognizable companies and the internet economy that it has helped
define since it was founded by two Stanford University graduate
students in 1998. The Justice Department did not immediately put
forward remedies, such as selling off parts of the company or
unwinding business contracts, in the lawsuit. Such actions are typically
pursued in later stages of a case.
Ryan Shores, an associate deputy attorney general, said “nothing is off
the table” in terms of remedies.
Google has long denied accusations of antitrust violations, and the
company is expected to fight the government’s efforts by using its
global network of lawyers, economists and lobbyists. Alphabet, valued
at $1.04 trillion and with cash reserves of $120 billion, has fought
similar antitrust lawsuits in Europe. The company spent $12.7 million
lobbying in the United States in 2019, making it one of the top
corporate spenders in Washington.
The company says it has strong competition in the search market, with
more people finding information on sites like Amazon. It says its
services have been a boon for small businesses.
“People use Google because they choose to, not because they’re forced
to, or because they can’t find alternatives,” Kent Walker, the company’s
chief legal officer, said in a blog post.
Mr. Walker said the lawsuit would do “nothing to help consumers. To
the contrary, it would artificially prop up lower-quality search
alternatives, raise phone prices and make it harder for people to get the
search services they want to use.”
Democratic lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee released a
sprawling report on the tech giants two weeks ago, also accusing
Google of controlling a monopoly over online search and the ads that
come up when users enter a query.
