Also: Libya floods, Kim Jong Un, and the Catholic Church.
Monday, September 12, 2023: Hey subscribers, Itâs [Future Perfect]( fellow [Rachel]( returning for your Tuesday edition of Sentences. Hereâs whatâs happening today: Up first: Google goes to court In other news: Deadly flooding in Libya, Kim Jong Un makes it to Russia, and further abuse allegations against the Catholic Church come to light UP FIRST What Googleâs trial means for you [Googleâs office in New York City]( Spencer Platt/Getty Images Today, the Justice Department's case against Google begins. The DOJ â and most US states and territories â filed lawsuits against Google in 2020, arguing it has a search engine monopoly that violates antitrust law. The lowdown: The trial against Google is just the first of many the tech world faces. The Federal Trade Commission has a forthcoming case against Meta and could go to court with Amazon, too. - Much of the Google lawsuit hinges on the question: Which search engine do you use, and why? Ninety percent of Americans use Google, and while the company claims thatâs because itâs the best search engine, the DOJ argues itâs because the company pays billions to be the default browser on most devices. - A similar antitrust trial decades ago took down the formerly predominant search engine, Internet Explorer. In 1998, the DOJ sued Microsoft for forcing its browser onto users. Eventually, the DOJ settled with Microsoft, allowing it to stay in one piece in exchange for millions in fines, but while the company had been tied up in court, new competitors like Google emerged. - The issue with Googleâs dominance is that it creates a lack of choice (at least, thatâs what the DOJ is arguing). While Google compares paying for default browser status to brands paying for prime shelf space at a grocery store, the DOJ claims the company has created an environment where itâs impossible to compete. For the same reasons â a lack of money to compete with the behemoth that is Google â the suit also claims the practices have stifled innovation. The stakes: While a ruling on this case isnât expected until next year (and itâs likely a lengthy appeals process will follow), the outcome âmay be hugely consequentialâ for businesses and consumers alike, writes [Vox senior tech reporter Sara Morrison](. If Google loses and gets broken up into smaller companies, consumers could end up having more choice in which search engine serves as their default. If Google wins, that will set a precedent for the other Big Tech companies about how far they can go to achieve market dominance. âSomething I often think about when Iâm reporting on and writing about this is how much of the internet Google actually or effectively owns,â Sara told me. âThis trial is about how the internet works now, who gets to control it, and if our old antitrust laws can work in a digital economy where so many services are âfreeâ and their influence is often invisible. If you use the internet â and, if youâre reading this, you do â then this should matter to you.â [Read Saraâs explainer here.]( NEXT UP As many as 10,000 people missing amid catastrophic flooding in Libya [Overturned cars lay among other debris caused by flash floods in Derna, eastern Libya, on September 11, 2023. Flash floods in eastern Libya killed more than 2,300 people in the Mediterranean coastal city of Derna alone, the emergency services of the Tripoli-based government said on September 12.]( AFP via Getty Images On Tuesday, officials from the North African country of Libya announced that [more than 3,000 people were believed to have been killed](, and thousands more are missing, after two dams burst as a result of Mediterranean storm Daniel. - This is the deadliest flood in Africa since 1927. Since 1900, only one other flood (in Algeria) has been as deadly as Libyaâs, with 3,000 resulting deaths. With thousands missing, itâs likely Libyaâs flood will become the deadliest on the continent in over a century. [CNN]( - The already underresourced Derna, a coastal city in northeast Libya, was one of the hardest hit by the floods. âI have visited Derna quite frequently. I have been shocked that a city of 100,000 people does not have a single hospital that is functioning,â Hani Shennib, president of the National Council on US-Libya Relations, told Al Jazeera. The flooding is âthe straw that has broken the camelâs back.â [Al Jazeera]( - The floods in Libya come just days after a quake in Morocco killed more than 2,900 people. The disasters were equally devastating for the North African countries, and the humanitarian needs are huge, a representative from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies told the press Tuesday. [NBC News]( PRESS PLAY Hunter becomes the hunted Hunter Biden is set to be indicted this month. The WSJâs Aruna Viswanatha goes over the evidence with us, and Politicoâs Jonathan Lemire looks at what it all means for President Bidenâs reelection bid. [Listen now â¶]( AROUND THE WEB - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia ahead of his meeting with the countryâs president, Vladimir Putin. US officials have warned the meeting could result in an arms deal between the two nations. [CNN]( - A newly released study found over 1,000 cases of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Switzerland. The over-year-long study discovered that since the mid-20th century, abuse was prolific in the church across the European country. [ABC News](
- Today, the Israeli Supreme Court heard the first challenge in the court case against the prime ministerâs judicial overhaul plan. When Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled the plan earlier this year, it was met with mass protests and warnings that it weakened Israeli democracy. [AP](
- Following deadly earthquakes over the weekend, the Moroccan government rejected some offers of foreign aid. While the decisions may seem surprising, Moroccan officials have stated that âa lack of co-ordination in such cases would be counterproductive,â arguing too much aid all at once would lead to chaos. [BBC]( (PS: I [previously wrote]( about this bottleneck effect with post-disaster aid.)
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