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☆ What’s at stake in the Google antitrust case? Billions of dollars (and the way we use the internet)
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Whenever you type a search into Apple’s Safari browser — say, on an iPhone — chances are it’s Google that returns the results. You can tell Safari to pick another search engine, but in practice most people tend to stick with Google by default. You might know that Google pays Apple enormous sums of money every year for that prime placement. Those eye-popping figures, newly unsealed this week, come from a blockbuster antitrust lawsuit against Google that’s just entered its closing stages. Nothing prevented Apple from choosing a different default search partner, Google contends.

Persons: —, Google that’s, Trump, Amit Mehta, Mehta, ” Mehta, John Schmidtlein, Google’s, Sherman, “, ” Schmidtlein Organizations: CNN, Google, Apple, Justice Department, DOJ, Microsoft

☆ The future of Google — and Big Tech — hangs in the balance at trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Geoff Weiss | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Google's landmark antitrust trial is wrapping up this week in DC with closing arguments, capping off a yearslong saga. AdvertisementIn the end, Judge Mehta could clear Google or find it liable, which could result in changes to its search engine contracts. Mehta could even bar Google from making future deals around its search engine. In his testimony, Google SVP Prabhakar Raghavan noted the search giant is referred to as "Grandpa Google" in some circles and cited execs' fears that its influence might be dwindling.

Persons: —, Amit Mehta, Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai, Google's, Kent Walker, Judge Mehta, Mehta, Prabhakar Raghavan, Google Organizations: Service, Apple, Business, US, Microsoft, Justice, Google, The New York Times, DOJ, FTC, Amazon, Meta, Big Tech, AP

☆ Judge denies Peter Navarro’s bid to remain out of prison while appealing contempt of Congress case
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A federal judge on Thursday denied Trump White House official Peter Navarro's bid to remain out of prison while he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction for refusing to cooperate with an investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The former White House trade adviser under President Donald Trump had asked to be free while he fights that conviction and sentence in higher courts. The judge said Navarro hasn't shown that any of the issues he will raise on appeal are "substantial" questions of law. Former White House adviser Steve Bannon previously received a four-month sentence but is free pending appeal. The House committee spent 18 months investigating the insurrection, interviewing over 1,000 witnesses, holding 10 hearings and obtaining more than 1 million pages of documents.

Persons: Peter Navarro, Donald Trump, Peter Navarro's, Navarro, Judge Amit Mehta, Navarro hasn't, Mehta, Barack Obama, Navarro didn't, Trump, Steve Bannon, Jack Smith, Joe Biden Organizations: U.S, Trump White House, U.S . Capitol, White, Bureau of Prisons, Trump, Capitol, Republican Locations: Washington

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday denied Trump White House official Peter Navarro's bid to remain out of prison while he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction for refusing to cooperate with an investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Navarro was sentenced last month to four months behind bars after being found guilty of defying a subpoena for documents and a deposition from the House Jan. 6 Committee. Navarro was the second Trump aide convicted of contempt of Congress charges. Former White House adviser Steve Bannon previously received a four-month sentence but is free pending appeal. The judge barred him from making that argument at trial, however, finding that he didn’t show Trump had actually invoked it.

Persons: Peter Navarro's, Navarro, Judge Amit Mehta, Navarro didn't, Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, Trump, Democrat Joe Biden Organizations: WASHINGTON, —, Trump White House, U.S . Capitol, Bureau of Prisons, Trump, White, Democrat

CNN —Peter Navarro, a former trade adviser to President Donald Trump who was convicted of contempt of Congress, has been ordered to report to prison after a judge denied Navarro’s effort to stay out of prison while he appeals the conviction. Circuit, Defendant shall report to the designated Bureau of Prisons facility on the date ordered by the BOP.”CNN has reached out to Navarro’s lawyer for comment. The decision from Mehta stands in stark contrast to how the conviction of Steve Bannon was handled. It’s unclear from Mehta’s order what date exactly Navarro will be required to report to prison. Shortly after his sentencing, Navarro notified the court that he was appealing the sentence.

Persons: Peter Navarro, Donald Trump, Navarro, Amit Mehta, ” Mehta, Mehta, Steve Bannon, Bannon, Trump Organizations: CNN, Capitol, D.C, of Prisons, ” CNN, DC, Appeals Locations: Washington ,

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth condemned the depiction by Trump and Republican allies of Jan. 6 defendants as “political prisoners” and “hostages." Lamberth also denounced attempts to undermine the legitimacy of the justice system for punishing rioters who broke the law when they invaded the Capitol. Photos You Should See View All 45 ImagesAt least two other rioters shouted “Trump won!” in court after receiving their punishment. Lamberth had originally sentenced Little in 2022 to 60 days behind bars, followed by three years of probation. “Little cannot bring himself to admit that he did the wrong thing, although he came close today,” Judge Lamberth wrote.

Persons: Royce Lamberth, Trump, ”, Lamberth, Ronald Reagan, Marc Bru, ” Bru, “ Trump, Rachel Marie Powell, Judge Amit Mehta, " Mehta, Barack Obama, Peter Schwartz, You’re, Alexei Navalny, “, James Little, Little, Little’s, Judge Lamberth, Christopher Cooper, Richard “ Bigo ” Barnett, Nancy Pelosi’s, ” Cooper, Barnett, ____ Richer Organizations: District, Republican, Capitol, Trump, White, CNN, Washington , D.C, House, The Associated Press, J6 Locations: Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Washington ,, North Carolina, Arkansas, Boston

WASHINGTON (AP) — A prominent defense attorney whose star clients have included Snoop Dogg pleaded guilty Friday to leaking grand jury information to reporters about a political conspiracy case against a rapper from the Fugees. Michel's trial included testimony from such figures as actor Leonardo DiCaprio and former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Kenner’s attorney said in court documents that the reporters originally agreed to sign a protective order, but later changed their minds. L. Barrett Boss, one of the defense attorneys, said Kenner was planning to retire after Michel’s trial. But Boss said Kenner is “very strained financially” because he spent $1.4 million “out of pocket” on Michel’s defense.

Persons: Snoop Dogg, David Kenner, Suge Knight, Tory Lanez, Kenner, ” Michel, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeff Sessions, ” Kenner, Michel, Peter Zeidenberg, Kenner misattributing, Diddy, Judge Amit Mehta, Mehta, Barrett Boss, Boss, Pras Michel, Erica Dumas, Barack Obama’s, Trump, DiCaprio, Jho, _____ Whitehurst Organizations: WASHINGTON, Bloomberg News, U.S, Bloomberg, Kenner, Justice Department, Hollywood Locations: California, Washington, U.S, Malaysian, China, Philadelphia

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Trump White House official convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol is set to be sentenced Thursday. Navarro was found guilty of defying a subpoena for documents and a deposition from the House Jan. 6 committee. Navarro served as a White House trade adviser under then-President Donald Trump and later promoted the Republican’s baseless claims of mass voter fraud in the 2020 election he lost. Navarro has vowed to appeal the verdict, saying he couldn’t cooperate with the committee because Trump had invoked executive privilege. Former White House adviser Steve Bannon was convicted of two counts and was sentenced to four months behind bars, though he has been free while appealing his conviction.

Persons: Peter Navarro, Trump, Navarro, Donald Trump, ”, Steve Bannon, Judge Amit Mehta, — Organizations: WASHINGTON, Trump White House, U.S . Capitol, Prosecutors, White, Justice Department, Defense

☆ Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro sentenced to 4 months in jail for defying congressional subpoena
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Devan Cole | Holmes Lybrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Washington CNN —Peter Navarro was sentenced Thursday to four months in jail for contempt of Congress after defying a subpoena related to the congressional investigation into the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack. Each count carries a mandatory minimum sentence of one month in prison, but prosecutors had asked Mehta to sentence Navarro to six months for each count – running concurrently – and fine him $200,000. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon was convicted in 2022 on two contempt counts and later sentenced to four months in prison. The Justice Department used its testimony to make the case that the committee had good reason to subpoena Navarro and that he was informed repeatedly of its demands. Navarro has insisted that he didn’t comply with the subpoena at the direction of Trump, who he claimed invoked executive privilege in the matter.

Persons: Washington CNN — Peter Navarro, Navarro, Amit Mehta, “, ”, ” Mehta, Trump, Mehta, stonewalled, Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, Elizabeth Aloi, Navarro “ Organizations: Washington CNN, Trump, DC, Appeals, Capitol, Justice Department, Prosecutors Locations: Navarro

A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a bid for a new trial for Peter Navarro, a Trump White House official convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the U.S. Capitol attack. Navarro, who served as a White House trade adviser under President Donald Trump, was found guilty by a jury in Washington's federal court for defying a subpoena for documents and a deposition from the House Jan. 6 committee. Navarro was the second Trump aide to face contempt of Congress charges after former White House adviser Steve Bannon. Navarro’s sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 25 in Washington's federal court. He was convicted of two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress, both punishable by up to a year behind bars.

Persons: Peter Navarro, Navarro, Donald Trump, He's, Judge Amit Mehta, “ Defendant, ” Mehta, Trump, White, Steve Bannon, Bannon, “, ___ Richer Organizations: Trump White House, U.S . Capitol, White, Republican Locations: Boston

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawsuits against Donald Trump brought by Capitol Police officers and Democratic lawmakers over the U.S. Capitol riot, can move forward, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Trump's request to dismiss the lawsuits that accuse him of inciting the violent mob on Jan. 6, 2021. Political Cartoons View All 1274 ImagesTrump’s lawyers have said the president’s words involved “matters of public concern” and falls within the scope of absolute presidential immunity. They noted in court papers that Trump was acquitted in the U.S. Senate of inciting the riot after a historic impeachment trial, and claimed the lawsuits are “just this type of harassment presidential immunity is meant to foreclose.”The D.C. appeals court decision comes after Trump challenged a federal judge's ruling denying his effort to throw out the lawsuits. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta had ruled that Trump’s words during the rally before the storming of the Capitol were likely “words of incitement not protected by the First Amendment.”

Persons: Donald Trump, it's, Judge Gregory Katsas, Trump, Jesse Binnall, Jack Smith, Joe Biden, ”, Judge Amit Mehta Organizations: WASHINGTON, Capitol Police, Democratic, U.S, Capitol, Circuit, Appeals, Trump, White House, U.S . Senate Locations: Washington, U.S

☆ Amtrak Tries to Take Union Station
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The week’s best and worst from Kim Strassel, Allysia Finley and Dan Henninger. Amtrak is a rolling master class on government in action, and the latest example is its effort to seize control of Union Station in Washington via the power of eminent domain. The railway wants to do a concourse modernization project to add more seating, increase signage in the terminal, and improve infrastructure. In a September hearing before Washington, D.C., federal district Judge Amit Mehta , Amtrak CEO Steven Gardner said that the current leaseholder, a company called USI, isn’t helping the railway accomplish its plans. He complained that there’s “a mismatch” between Amtrak and “a private developer looking to maximize retail and revenue.”

Persons: Kim Strassel, Allysia Finley, Dan Henninger, Amit Mehta, Steven Gardner, isn’t, there’s Organizations: Amtrak, Station, D.C Locations: Washington

The trial is the first of two antitrust cases brought by the Justice Department against Google. Photo: Hasan Bratic/Zuma PressWASHINGTON—The historic antitrust case against Google will soon be in the hands of a judge who says he has no idea how he will rule. It will be many months before U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta , who oversaw the nonjury trial in Washington, rules on the question at the heart of the Justice Department’s case: Did Alphabet -owned Google, which answers about 90% of all internet search queries worldwide, illegally cement its monopoly?

Persons: Hasan Bratic, Zuma Press WASHINGTON, Judge Amit Mehta Organizations: Justice Department, Google, Zuma Press, U.S Locations: Washington

☆ What's next in Google's court battle with the US Justice Department?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Companies Need To Integrate Climate Reporting Across Functions To Comply With California S New Law | Henry Engler | October | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will rule sometime in 2024 on whether any of Google's actions broke antitrust law. APPEALS LIKELYNo matter who prevails when Mehta issues his ruling, experts say there will be an appeal. Google's default search agreements have prevented this from happening, they say. Google may also be required to spin off its Chrome browser, which has the Google search engine as its default. Chrome has almost 60% of the computer browser market, according to the Justice Department's amended complaint filed in 2021.

Persons: Amit Mehta, Mehta, Megan Gray, Lee Hepner, Bing, Satya Nadella, Department's, Diane Bartz, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S . Justice Department, Google, U.S, District, Supreme, Justice Department, Apple, Android, American Economic Liberties, Thomson Locations: Columbia, Washington

☆ Apple gets 36% of Google search revenue from Safari, Alphabet witness says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Google pays Apple more than a third of its search advertising revenue from Safari under the terms of the two companies' search default agreement, an Alphabet witness said in open court Monday amid a protracted antitrust battle between Google and the Department of Justice. The 36% figure, which was not previously known to the public, is one of the clearest indications of how lucrative Google's search deal has been for both Apple and the search engine company. The search default agreement is a major focus of the proceedings. Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi has estimated in a note to clients that Apple would see $19 billion in 2023 revenue as a result of the search engine default deal with Google. "Everybody talks about the open web, but there really is the Google web," he said on the stand.

Persons: Kevin Murphy, Department's, John Schmidtlein, Murphy, Amit Mehta, Bernstein, Toni Sacconaghi, Apple, Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Nadella, Microsoft's Bing Organizations: Google, Apple, Safari, Department of Justice, University of Chicago, Williams, Connolly, Bloomberg News, Microsoft

☆ Google's CEO defends paying Apple, others billions of dollars to make Google their default search engine on devices
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

CEO Sundar Pichai defended Google's spending billions to be the default search engine on devices. Court documents show Google paid more than $26 billion to Apple and other tech companies in 2021. AdvertisementAdvertisementGoogle CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday defended his company's practice of paying Apple and other tech companies to make Google the default search engine on their devices. Google counters that it dominates the market because its search engine is better than the competition. The Mountain View, California-based company could be stopped from paying Apple and other companies to make Google the default search engine.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, Pichai, —, Trump, Judge Amit Mehta Organizations: Apple, Service, The Department, Justice, Google, Justice Department, Microsoft, Washington D.C, U.S Locations: U.S, Washington, View , California

Google contends that it dominates the market because its search engine is better than the competition's. The Justice Department sought to show that Google feared Apple might establish its own search engine and worried about losing talent to Apple. In a 2019 email shown in court, Pichai asked to be informed directly whenever a member of Google’s search engine team defected to Apple. The Mountain View, California-based company could be stopped from paying Apple and other companies to make Google the default search engine. “You get up in the morning, you brush your teeth and you search on Google,” Nadella said.

Persons: —, Sundar Pichai, Pichai, “ That’s, Trump, Judge Amit Mehta, Satya Nadella, ” Nadella, Michael Liedke Organizations: WASHINGTON, Apple, Department, Justice, Google, McKinsey & Co, Justice Department, Microsoft, Washington D.C, U.S, Associated Press Technology Locations: India, U.S, Washington, View , California

☆ Google paid $26 bln to be default search engine in 2021 - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A sign is pictured outside a Google office near the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 8, 2019. The amount of payments Google made for the default status has more than tripled since 2014, according to senior executive Prabhakar Raghavan who is responsible for both search and advertising, the report added. Google's revenue from search advertising came in at $146.4 billion in 2021, while the payments for the default setting were its biggest cost, Raghavan was mentioned as saying in the Bloomberg report. The company has argued the revenue share agreements are legal and that it has invested to keep its search and advertising businesses competitive. Google had objected to revealing the numbers, saying they would harm the company's ability to negotiate contracts in the future.

Persons: Paresh Dave, Prabhakar Raghavan, Raghavan, Judge Amit Mehta, Jaspreet Singh, Shailesh Organizations: REUTERS, Google, Justice, Bloomberg, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Mountain View , California, U.S, Bengaluru

Prabhakar Raghavan, Google's senior vice president for knowledge and information products, testified for the tech giant as it defends itself in the biggest antitrust trial in the last 25 years. The government has accused the company of illegally thwarting competitors from making inroads against its ubiquitous search engine. Google says its search engine is dominant because it has a better product than its competitors. And it cited evidence that consumers switch their search engine to Google the majority of the time in cases where another search engine is offered as the default choice. One option would be to prohibit Google from paying companies to make Google a default search engine.

Persons: Prabhakar Raghavan, Google's, Raghavan, Google, Grandpa Google, ” Raghavan, ”, Bing, Trump, Judge Amit Mehta Organizations: WASHINGTON, Google, Fortune, Yahoo, The, Apple, Microsoft, Justice Department Locations: U.S, Alexandria , Virginia

☆ 'Grandpa Google' is in danger of becoming irrelevant to younger generations, company exec testifies at antitrust trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Google leaders fear the search engine could become irrelevant to youth, a company exec testified. Senior VP Prabhakar Raghavan said Google is beset by rivals and youth call it "Grandpa Google." The company is defending itself in a landmark antitrust case brought by the US government. And it cited evidence that consumers switch their search engine to Google the majority of the time in cases where another search engine is offered as the default choice. One option would be to prohibit Google from paying companies to make Google a default search engine.

Persons: Prabhakar Raghavan, Google, —, Google's, Raghavan, Grandpa Google, Bing, Trump, Judge Amit Mehta Organizations: Google, Service, Fortune, Yahoo, The, Apple, Microsoft, Justice Department Locations: U.S, Alexandria , Virginia

The Justice Department has called witnesses who testified about Google's payments, billions of dollars annually, to smartphone makers and wireless companies to make Google search the default on devices, and win more users. Others testified how search dominance led to clout in online advertising, including the ability to quietly raise ad prices. He also testified about how Google used machine learning tools that it developed to improve its search. Nayak's discussions of improving search appeared to downplay the role that search query volume played, implicitly disagreeing with Microsoft (MSFT.O) CEO Satya Nadella's arguments that his company needed more search queries to improve its Bing search engine but was being blocked by Google. Nayak also testified that Google compared its results to answers from Microsoft's search engine Bing, and found Bing to be lower quality.

Persons: Eric Gaillard, Pandu Nayak, Satya Nadella's, Amit Mehta, Nayak, Bing, Diane Bartz, Marguerita Choy Organizations: REUTERS, Microsoft, WASHINGTON, Google, The, Thomson

Google's search engine earned its huge market share by almost instantaneously presenting people with helpful information culled from the billions of websites that have been indexed since former Stanford University graduate students Larry Page and Sergey Brin developed the technology during the late 1990s. These agreements don’t preclude users from switching to a different search engine in their settings, but it’s a tedious process that few people bother to navigate. “You get up in the morning, you brush your teeth and you search on Google,” Nadella said. “Google must think they getting a great benefit from those default agreements, but maybe they're really not worth that much,” Olson said. That would be ironic.”Although the trial is focused on Google's search engine, a government victory could have more sweeping consequences across the technology industry if Mehta decided all default settings are anti-competitive and outlaws all defaults in the settings.

Persons: it's, Judge Amit Mehta, Mehta, “, ”, Luther Lowe, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Department's, Bing, Satya Nadella, ” Nadella, Bing —, Nadella, Florian Schaub, ” Schaub, Eddy Cue, David Olson, ” Olson, Siri Organizations: Google, U.S, Justice Department, Stanford University, Apple, Microsoft, University of Michigan, Verizon, Boston College Law School Locations: U.S, Europe

Shane Jenkins, 46, tried to smash a Capitol window with his tomahawk during the Jan. 6, 2021, siege. It displays a cartoon avatar of Jenkins, nicknamed Skullet, and a logo depicting crossed tomahawks below a silhouette of the Capitol building. Prosecutors don't know how much money Jenkins has generated from the website's merchandise sales. They also asked the judge to impose a fine of at least $118,888, equaling the money Jenkins has publicly raised. Jenkins flew from Houston to Washington, D.C., a day before Trump’s rally near the White House on Jan. 6.

Persons: —, ” —, Shane Jenkins, Jenkins, ”, Donald Trump's mugshot, Skullet, Dennis Boyle, Jenkins hasn't, Judge Amit Mehta, ” Mehta, “, ” Jenkins, Mehta, Joe Biden, Boyle, Trump, Donald Trump, “ Mr, Jenkins wasn't, Taylor Taranto, Ashli Babbitt, Jan Organizations: WASHINGTON, U.S, Capitol, “, J6, Prosecutors, ” Prosecutors, Democrat, Trump, Republican, Washington , D.C, Associated Locations: Texas, Houston, Washington ,, Washington, Taranto, West Terrace

[1/2] The Microsoft logo is seen at the Microsoft store in New York City, July 28, 2015. REBUFFED BY APPLENadella also testified that Microsoft had sought to make its Bing search engine the default on Apple (AAPL.O) smartphones but was rebuffed. On laptops, most of which use Microsoft operating systems, Bing is the default search engine and has a market share below 20%, Nadella acknowledged. Nadella became CEO of Microsoft in 2014, long after the tech giant faced its own federal antitrust lawsuit. As Google, which was founded in 1998, became an industry leading search engine, the two became bitter rivals.

Persons: Mike Segar, Satya Nadella, Nadella, U.S . Justice Department's, APPLE Nadella, John Schmidtlein, Google's, Schmidtlein, Bing, Amit Mehta, Diane Bartz, Christina Fincher, Deepa Babington Organizations: Microsoft, REUTERS, Google, U.S . Justice, Apple, APPLE, Bing, Verizon, BlackBerry, Nokia, District of Columbia, Thomson Locations: New York City, WASHINGTON, U.S, Bing, OpenAI

Nadella was dismissing an argument that Google has made - that it is easy to change defaults on devices. He said that Microsoft, itself a tech powerhouse, had sought to make its Bing search engine the default on Apple (AAPL.O) smartphones but was rebuffed. The clout in search makes Google a heavy hitter in the lucrative advertising market, boosting its profits. "You get up in the morning and you brush your teeth and you search on Google," he added in a reference to Google's dominance in search. As Google, which was founded in 1998, became an industry leading search engine, the two became bitter rivals.

Persons: Mike Segar, Satya Nadella, U.S . Justice Department's, Nadella, Amit Mehta, Bing, Diane Bartz, Christina Fincher, Deepa Babington Organizations: Microsoft, REUTERS, U.S ., Google, Apple, District of Columbia, Thomson Locations: New York City, WASHINGTON, U.S, OpenAI

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