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美國司法部對谷歌公司發起反壟斷訴訟
By Mario Ritter, Jr.
20 October 2020
The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday brought legal action against Google for its business methods. It said the company used its market power over internet search and advertising to limit competition and harm users.
美國司法部周二對谷歌公司的商業手段提起了法律訴訟。司法部稱該公司利用其在網際網路搜索和廣告業務上的市場力量來限制競爭並傷害用戶。
The case marks the government's most notable antitrust legal action since its case against Microsoft more than 20 years ago. The U.S. started the case against Google while continuing its investigations into other major technology companies. Those companies include Apple, Amazon and Facebook.
這起案件是20多年前對微軟提起訴訟以來美國政府最著名的反壟斷訴訟。美國開始對谷歌公司提出訴訟，同時繼續對其它科技公司進行調查。這些公司包括蘋果、亞馬遜和臉書。
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen led the antitrust case against Google. The government called Goggle the "gatekeeper for the internet." It said Google kept its power using methods "that are harmful to competition."
美國司法部副部長傑夫·羅森領導了這起針對谷歌公司的反壟斷案件。美國政府稱谷歌公司是「網際網路看門人。」美國政府稱谷歌利用「損害競爭的手段」來維持它的控制力。
Such methods include paying billions of dollars to companies like Apple, Samsung and T-Mobile to make Google the default search engine on mobile devices and internet browsers. And the company also entered agreements with companies to bar preinstalled software from competitors. Eleven states, all with Republican Party attorneys general, joined the federal government in the case.
這些手段包括向蘋果、三星和T-Mobile等公司支付數十億美元，以使谷歌成為行動裝置和網際網路瀏覽器上的默認搜尋引擎。該公司還同各個公司達成協議，禁止預安裝來自於競爭對手的軟體。共有11個州聯手聯邦政府發起了這起訴訟，這些州的司法部長都是共和黨人。
Google called the government's case "deeply flawed." The company said in a blog post, "People use Google because they choose to, not because they're forced to, or because they can't find alternatives."
谷歌稱這起政府案件存在「嚴重缺陷。」該公司在博客文章中表示：「人們使用谷歌是因為他們選擇這樣做，而不是因為他們被迫這樣做或者找不到其他替代品。」
The company said that the case would "make it harder for people to get the search services they want to use." It defended the agreements as normal business methods that "are no different from the agreements that many other companies have traditionally used to distribute software."
該公司表示，此案將「使人們更難獲得他們想要使用的搜索服務。」該公司辯稱這些協議是正常商業手段，「與其它許多公司傳統上採用的軟體分發協議並沒有什麼不同。」
Google has such a commanding lead in the market that its name has become a verb to describe searching for information on the internet.
谷歌公司在市場上佔有如此高的主導地位，其名稱已經成為了描述在網際網路上搜索信息的一個動詞。
Statcounter reported that Google's Chrome browser has more than 66 percent of the worldwide market. And its Android software runs 74 percent of mobile phones around the world. The company also owns the top video website, YouTube, and operates the Google Map system.
Statcounter公司報告稱，谷歌的Chrome瀏覽器已佔據全球市場的66%以上。而且該公司的安卓軟體在全球74%的手機上運行。該公司還擁有頂級視頻網站Youtube，並運營Google Map系統。
The market value of Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc., is more than $1 trillion. The company reported more than $160 billion in earnings last year.
谷歌母公司Alphabet Inc.的市值已經超過1萬億美元。該公司去年公布的收益超過1600億美元。
U.S. federal and state antitrust laws are designed to place limits on the economic power a business has over a market. The goal is to protect competition and Americans who use the company's goods and services. In 1974, the antitrust case against AT&T led to the breakup of the huge, American telephone company.
美國聯邦和各州的反壟斷法旨在限制企業在市場上的經濟實力。目的是保護競爭以及使用該公司產品和服務的美國人。1974年，針對AT＆T公司的反壟斷案導致這家龐大的美國電話公司破產。
When asked what action should be taken against Google, a Justice Department official said, "Nothing is off the table." The officials added that a court should hear all the evidence before any decisions are made.
當被問及會對谷歌公司採取什麼行動時，司法部一位官員表示：「一切皆在考慮當中。」有關官員還表示，法院在做出任何裁決之前都會聽取各方證據。
Two weeks ago, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee's Antitrust Subcommittee released its 16-month long investigation into the "state of competition in the digital economy." The committee called for stronger antitrust measures against Google along with Apple, Amazon and Facebook for their business methods.
兩周前，美國眾議院司法委員會反壟斷小組委員會發布了他們對「數字經濟競爭狀況」為期16個月調查的結果。該委員會呼籲對谷歌、蘋果、亞馬遜以及臉書的商業手段採取更強力的反壟斷措施。
Google has faced similar antitrust legal action outside the United States. The European Union fined Google $1.7 billion in 2019 for stopping websites from using Google's competitors to find advertisers.
谷歌在美國以外地區也面臨類似的反壟斷訴訟。歐盟在2019年因為谷歌阻止網站利用其競爭對手尋找廣告商而對其罰款17億美元。
The company was fined $2.6 billion in 2017 for hurting competitors of its own shopping business with its search engine. Google also was fined $4.9 billion in 2018 for blocking competing services on its wireless Android operating system.
該公司在2017年因為利用其搜尋引擎傷害自有購物業務的競爭對手而被罰款26億美元。谷歌還於2018年因為在該公司的安卓行動作業系統上阻止競爭服務而被罰款49億美元。
I'm Jonathan Evans.
我是喬納森·埃文斯。
gatekeeper –n. a person or company that controls access to something
default –n.(computer) a setting that a computer operates in if a user does not choose a different setting
preinstalled –adj.(computer) a program that comes with a computer or device from the manufacturer and does not have to be added by the user
alternatives –n.(pl.) additional choices that can be made instead of something else
distribute –n.(computer) the process of providing software to the user
*內容來源51VOA.COM原創翻譯，侵刪~