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Judge in US v. Google trial didn’t know if Firefox is a browser or search engine (arstechnica.com)

submitted 1 year ago by L4s@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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Judge in US v. Google trial didn’t know if Firefox is a browser or search engine::Google accused DOJ of aiming to force people to use “inferior” search products.

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[–] ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one 4 points 1 year ago

When you have technical cases like this, a good expert witness can explain everything like the judge is five. I like to consider myself tech literate enough to know the basics.

This is about how Google used technology (algorithms) and it's buying power to cement it's monopoly.

From the DoJ's pre-trial brief.

First, Google designed its ad auction algorithms to include adjustable variables (internally known as “pricing knobs”);...Google has also reduced advertisers’ visibility into where and why Google displays ads, impeding advertisers’ ability to optimize advertising and lower costs.....Google knows that a search engine “get[s] better as you have more users” because its quality improves on metrics such as personalization, refinements, and the ability to decipher what the user is searching for “Large-scale machine learning[,]”

Start throwing in technical jargon about how the ad algorithm works, and even the most technical lay person is going to shrug their shoulders and go "I dunno, sounds like magic".

Other expert witnesses will still have to explain how Google fits a monopoly under an economic system, again too many technical jargon and people will shrug their shoulders and go "I dunno, sounds like voodoo."