Technology

As Google’s antitrust trial wraps, DOJ seeks sanctions over missing messages

Published

9 months ago

May 4, 2024

As Google’s antitrust trial wraps, DOJ seeks sanctions over missing messages

The fate of Google’s search business is now in the hands of Judge Amit Mehta, as closing arguments concluded in the landmark trial on Friday.

The Department of Justice and plaintiff states made their last arguments Thursday on Google’s alleged anticompetitive conduct in the general search market, and on Friday focused on its allegedly illegal conduct in search advertising. Google was also under fire (separately) for failing to retain chat messages that the DOJ believes could have been relevant to the case.

The government is trying to show that Google locked up key distribution channels for the general search engine market, so that would-be rivals could not grow into significant threats. It says it did so through contracts with phone manufacturers and browser companies to be their exclusive default search engine. If the judge agrees that Google successfully foreclosed competition in that market, he can consider the government’s arguments about the search advertising market as evidence of anticompetitive conduct.

In his summary, DOJ attorney Kenneth Dintzer said that the last major tech monopoly decision, US v. Microsoft, “fits like a glove” on Google. Google’s lead litigator in the case, John Schmidtlein, disagreed. In Microsoft, he said, manufacturers were coerced into deals and customers were spoon-fed an inferior product they didn’t want. “Google has won with a superior product,” he said.

“The importance and significance of this case is not lost on me,” Mehta said as he concluded Friday’s court proceedings. “Not only for Google, but for the public.”

An adequate substitute for Google ads

If Google charges higher prices for advertising, are there suitable substitutes that advertisers would flee to? The answer to that question can say a lot about whether or not Google has the monopoly power that the DOJ alleges it has created through the contracts it has to be the default search engine on various browsers and devices. Google says there’s plenty of alternatives for advertisers; the government disagrees.

Mehta seemed sympathetic to the government’s arguments, though he acknowledged that alternatives to Google are robust ad companies in their own right. Amazon, for instance, isn’t exactly an inferior substitute to Google for ads, said Mehta. Unlike wrapping a sandwich in newspaper instead of cellophane, Mehta said, “If you move your ad money from Google to Amazon, you’re not wrapping your ad in newspaper.”

But Mehta later differentiated ad platforms like Facebook and TikTok from Google. Users searching on Google come with a strong idea of what they’re looking for, pretty much spelling it out in the query. Social media platforms often have to infer that intent from indirect signals.

In 2017, Google ran an experiment over several weeks and found it could increase prices five to 15 percent while still growing revenue

In 2017, Google ran an experiment over several weeks and found it could increase prices five to 15 percent while still growing revenue. “Google is able to decide on what the margin that they are going to acquire is. And that’s why they’re running experiments to say, ‘well if we up it by 15 percent, how much are we going to lose in revenue?’” Mehta said to Schmidtlein. “That’s something that only a monopolist could do, right?” Schmidtlein disagreed, saying it’s fair to run pricing experiments to figure out if they’re charging the right price.

Mehta pointed out that there was “no evidence that Google ever looks at a competitors’ pricing” for that purpose. Schmidtlein responded it wasn’t that simple. Because ads are sold through a complicated auction, not even Google has total insight into the pricing mechanism behind it. It simply isn’t the same as a Coca-Cola rep walking through a grocery store to see Pepsi’s prices.

Sabotaging ads on Bing

The plaintiff states — the attorneys general for 38 states led by Colorado and Nebraska that brought the suit alongside the DOJ — are also arguing that Google intentionally dragged its feet when building certain features for SA360, its search engine marketing tool. SA360 helps advertisers manage ads through different platforms — not just Google, but competitors like Microsoft’s Bing.

The states say that Google lagged behind in building a SA360 feature for Bing ads when it had already implemented it for Google search ads.

“The evidence here is a little bit tricky for Google,” Mehta said, noting the significance of Google having said rather publicly at the start that it was “not going to play favorites” when it came to SA360. While Google could have chosen to exclude Microsoft from the tool at the outset, “that’s not the choice they made,” Mehta said.

The tool was not delivered for nearly five years after Microsoft asked for it. “How can that not be at least inferred to be anticompetitive?” Mehta asked.

Deleted chats

Hanging over the whole case is an issue about whether Google intentionally deleted or failed to retain documents that might have been used as evidence in this trial.

Google had a policy of having “history off” on its chats by default, leaving it to employees to determine when to turn it on for relevant conversations. DOJ’s Dintzer called the alleged destruction of documents “unequivocal and honestly breathtaking.” He added that “there’s no question” executives “intentionally had conversations with history off.”

“Google’s retention policy leaves a lot to be desired,” said the judge, adding disapprovingly that it was “surprising to me that a company would leave it to their employees to decide when to preserve documents.”

“Google’s retention policy leaves a lot to be desired”

Soon after, Dintzer’s slide deck paused on a slide that simply read “This is Wrong,” as the DOJ attorney pointed out Google never apologized for the unretained documents nor promised not to do it again in the future. He said it’s imperative that the court impose sanctions that show the risk of destroying documents is not worthwhile. The DOJ is asking Mehta to make an adverse inference about Google for any element of the case where he doesn’t think plaintiffs have sufficient evidence. That would mean the judge would assume that any deleted chats would have been bad for Google and showed their anticompetitive intent behind their contracts with manufacturers and browsers. The DOJ also wants Mehta to take the destroyed chats as a signal of its anticompetitive intent.

Google attorney Colette Connor said the company’s lawyers had informed the state of Texas (one of the plaintiffs) early on about their retention policies. Dintzer said even that disclosure came months after the litigation hold and that the DOJ “clearly” would have acted had they known.

Mehta didn’t seem to buy Google’s defense. “It’s interesting to me that Google has been very deliberate — and perhaps after seeing what’s happened with Microsoft – very deliberate in advising employees in what not to say,” he said. In a training for employees, the company advised avoiding terms like “market share.” (Bloomberg Law has noted this is a common practice in large companies.)

It’s now up to Mehta to decide how those absent chats should be accounted for. He hasn’t provided a timeline for his decision, but in the meantime, Google and the DOJ will be preparing for their second antitrust face-off over advertising technology in the fall.

Technology

Apple’s latest iPad Mini is down to its lowest price to date

Published

5 hours ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

Apple’s latest iPad Mini is down to its lowest price to date

If you’re in the market for a highly portable tablet, Apple’s smallest tablet has fallen to its lowest price to date at multiple retailers. Right now, the latest iPad Mini is on sale at Amazon and Best Buy with Wi-Fi and 128GB of storage starting at $399 ($100 off). If you need more storage, you can also buy the step-up model with 256GB of storage for $499 ($100 off) or the 512GB variant for $699 ($100 off).

With its 8.3-inch screen and lightweight design, the latest iPad Mini is closer in size to the iPhone than any other tablet in Apple’s lineup. As a result, it’s easier to carry on the go and hold with one hand, making it an excellent option if you read a lot on your tablet. Its small size doesn’t come at the expense of performance, though. In fact, the onboard A17 Pro chip is snappier than the A14 Bionic chip found in the entry-level iPad, even if it’s not as speedy as the processors in the M4-powered iPad Pro or M2-powered Air.

Unlike the base iPad, the seventh-gen Mini supports Apple Intelligence, so you can take advantage of a host of AI-based features — such as AI-assisted summaries, Genmoji, ChatGPT, and the ability to erase unwanted objects in photos. It also supports the newer Apple Pencil Pro, along with Wi-Fi 6E and faster USB-C performance. They’re pretty iterative updates overall; however, they’re also a lot more appealing at $399 than they are at the tablet’s typical retail price of $499.

Technology

5-minute cleanup for your phone and computer

Published

5 hours ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

5-minute cleanup for your phone and computer

Digital junk piles up faster than clutter in real life. There are files you don’t need, all those random screenshots, apps you downloaded and used once, and blurry photos clogging up your camera roll.

Win a pair of $329 Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Enter here, no purchase necessary!

It all adds up, slowing your devices down and making everything feel messy. The good news? Cleaning it up is easier than you think. Let’s do a quick declutter that will make you say, “Ahhh, that feels better.”

Step 1: Update your devices

HOW TO (KINDLY) ASK PEOPLE NOT TO POST YOUR KIDS’ PHOTOS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

There are too many dangerous bugs out there to skip security patches.

On a Windows PC, head to Settings > Windows Update.
On a Mac, go to General > Software Update.
On an Android, tap Settings > System > Software.
On an iPhone, tap Settings > General > Software Update.

Start with your phone

Apps are space hogs

Scroll through your app list and delete any you’re not using anymore. If it’s been months, you’re not going to use it. Trust me. And even if you do want it later, great, download it again.

YOUR SSN IS ON THE DARK WEB — HERE’S WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT

While you’re at it, move the apps you want to spend less time using (Instagram for me) off your phone’s home screen. You can hide the app or just move it to another page or folder.

On iPhone:

Swipe left to get past all your app screens and open the App Library.
To delete, touch and hold an app icon > Delete App > Delete to confirm.

(Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

On Android:

Open the Google Play Store app, and tap your Profile icon.
Tap Manage apps & devices > Manage.
Select the name of the app you want to delete, then tap Uninstall.

TECH TIP: SAVE YOUR MEMORIES BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE

There’s time for a quick photo cleanup

On iPhone or iPad, the Photos app makes this a breeze.

Open your Photos app and select Albums.
Scroll down and choose Duplicates. (Last time I checked, I had 2,933 duplicate photos and 49 videos!)
Hit Select > Select all, then tap the Trash icon to delete them. You can also select Merge to combine your dupes into one great shot.

On an Android, open the Files by Google app, select Clean, then:

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra smartphone is seen in South Korea

(SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Tap Confirm and free up > See junk files and select what you want to clear.
When you’re ready, tap Clear > Clear. That’s all it takes to remove screenshots, memes, duplicates and other junk mixed in with your important photos.

Onto your computer

Start with the desktop

Here’s the quick and dirty way. Create a new folder, then drag all the random files, screenshots and whatever else into it.

Pro tip: Sensitive documents have no place on your desktop. If you do insist on saving private docs locally, at least give a snoop a more challenging time by naming the folder something off-base like “Vacation Photos.” Be sure your computer automatically locks when you’re away and requires a password on startup, too.

Quick lock: For Windows, hit the Windows key + L. On a Mac, use Ctrl + Cmd + Q.

Kick out programs you don’t need or use

They take up a decent amount of space, so regularly clear out anything you’re not using. Beyond that, outdated apps could put you at risk. By keeping old programs on your computer, you’re potentially leaving a door wide open for cybercriminals to slip in.

On a Windows PC:

Click the Start button and look for the app or program. Press and hold (or right-click) the app and select Uninstall.

On a Mac:

Click the Finder icon in the Dock, then Applications.
If an app is in a folder, open it to look for an Uninstaller. Double-click it, then follow the onscreen instructions.
If an app isn’t in a folder or doesn’t have an Uninstaller, drag it from the Applications folder to the Trash.

Don’t forget the outside

We’re aiming for quick, so let’s tackle those fingerprint-covered screens.

On your phone, remove the case and accessories. You want to reach every nook and cranny. For a computer monitor, dust the back top, sides and any ledges that collect dirt before you start cleaning.

A microfiber cloth works, but I prefer screen-cleaning wipes. They’re just so easy. Skip paper towels. They’re too rough for delicate jobs like this.

I always come back to this 210-pack of screen cleaning wipes. Use them on smartphones, tablets, monitors, TVs, remote controls and even glasses. They’re scratch-free and made with anti-static tissue that cleans without leaving behind streaks or lint.

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Technology

Meta is already working on Community Notes for Threads

Published

13 hours ago

January 13, 2025

Press Room

Meta is already working on Community Notes for Threads

Meta announced last week that it would be ditching fact-checkers in favor of X-like Community Notes, and self-described “leaker” Alessandro Paluzzi shared screenshots on Monday showing what the feature might look like in Threads.

Based on the screenshots, it appears you’ll be able to start the process of writing a Community Note from the three-dots menu on a post, which is where you can already access features like muting an account or reporting a post. Another screenshot shows that when you write a Community Note, your note will be anonymous.

A third screenshot appears to show an Instagram help center page about Community Notes that has a button to join a waitlist for the program. However, the layout of the page looks different from other live help center pages I can see right now.

Meta didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

Meta said last week that it plans to “phase in Community Notes in the US first over the next couple of months” and then “improve it over the course of the year,” but it hasn’t specified exactly when the feature might be available on Threads. My colleague Alex Heath reported Sunday that Community Notes “was not on the product roadmap before this week.”

In addition to the move to Community Notes, Meta said it’s also getting rid of “a number of restrictions” on topics like immigration and gender, and phasing “civil content” back into Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Instagram boss Adam Mosseri published a video today showing how to set the amount of political content you see on Threads.