As the Google trial enters its third week in court, it is shaping up to possibly be the most covert antitrust trial in recent decades.

Not only Google, but also other parties involved, like Apple and Microsoft, have advocated for the historic trial to be mostly locked off to the general public.

Google argued that it needs its privacy in a court filing last month, arguing that an antitrust trial would highlight its dominance in internet search.

This was a part of a larger pattern of Google's attempts to reduce openness in the first monopoly trial conducted by the federal government in the contemporary era of the Internet. Prior to the start of the case's opening arguments on September 12, Google submitted 35 motions and answers, nearly two-thirds of which were sealed, according to a count by the New York Times.

Now the US and others, in what could end up being the most covert antitrust lawsuit in decades, Google is starting its third week in court.

Other companies involved, like Apple and Microsoft, have supported keeping the revolutionary process largely hidden from the public, in addition to Google. Even when subpoenas were issued, Apple battled to have them rejected, claiming that doing so would prevent its officials from testifying.

An investigation from last week found that as a result, more than half of the trial's testimony was given in secret. Only one hour of one witness' testimony last week, the CEO of the search engine DuckDuckGo, was accessible to the general public. He talked on the witness stand for nearly five hours. The Justice Department, one of the plaintiffs, likewise deleted its presentations and supporting documentation from the public Internet at the judge's direction.

When Eddy Cue, a senior Apple executive, is slated to testify as early as this week on a crucial search deal between Apple and Google, the lack of transparency may persist this week. The federal government has charged Google with utilizing contracts with organizations like Apple unlawfully to protect its online search monopoly and stifle rivals.

Apple expressed its worries to the court late Monday that Mr. Cue's evidence regarding the specifics of his Google deal should take place behind closed doors to prevent the Justice Department lawyer from accidentally "blurting out" sensitive material. The company's attorneys said that there was a "significant risk" of disclosing Apple's commercial connections and agreements if Mr. Cue was questioned in public.