Comments on: Fear of a Google Planet http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/fear-of-a-google-planet.html The Law, the Universe, and Everything Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:59:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Matthew Sag http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/fear-of-a-google-planet.html/comment-page-1#comment-66128 Matthew Sag Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:57:02 +0000 http://www.concurringopinions.com/?p=21829#comment-66128 No one should seriously expect us to simply trust Google to do the right thing. Some regulation and antitrust action may even be appropriate. But policy interventions should not be driven by blind fear of Google's size and dazzling innovation. That is my modest proposal for this blog entry. No one should seriously expect us to simply trust Google to do the right thing. Some regulation and antitrust action may even be appropriate. But policy interventions should not be driven by blind fear of Google’s size and dazzling innovation. That is my modest proposal for this blog entry.

]]> By: A.J. Sutter http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/fear-of-a-google-planet.html/comment-page-1#comment-66121 A.J. Sutter Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:59:08 +0000 http://www.concurringopinions.com/?p=21829#comment-66121 Maybe it comes down to the simple issue of trusting a private business (especially one whose stock is publicly traded) to manage a public good for the benefit of the public, rather than for the benefit of its stockholders. I don't see why that trust is deserved in the general case, especially absent appropriate regulation. And I see it all the less when the business in question is a poster child for jackpot venture-style capitalism. As for their 'don't be evil' corporate culture, one could argue it was abandoned long ago (e.g., when they facilitated China's censorship, or when they had their bots scan users' gmails so they could provide content-sensitive ads); but even an angelic past for Google would not mitigate the issues around Google Book. Maybe it comes down to the simple issue of trusting a private business (especially one whose stock is publicly traded) to manage a public good for the benefit of the public, rather than for the benefit of its stockholders.

I don’t see why that trust is deserved in the general case, especially absent appropriate regulation. And I see it all the less when the business in question is a poster child for jackpot venture-style capitalism. As for their ‘don’t be evil’ corporate culture, one could argue it was abandoned long ago (e.g., when they facilitated China’s censorship, or when they had their bots scan users’ gmails so they could provide content-sensitive ads); but even an angelic past for Google would not mitigate the issues around Google Book.

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