Does Google have too much power?
Today Google announced details of its new operating system, Google Chrome OS, the next big step on its path to complete global Internet domination. Many people hail the achievements of a company that grew from such small beginnings, however my fears have only increased. Without doubt, Google is the future of digital information, media, marketing and communications. Should a single entity command so much power?
The Internet is at the forefront of nearly every single technological development, it is the global communications medium of the world. In the entertainment industry alone a war is raging and digital downloads are winning the battle. The likes of iTunes and Amazon are the future of digital entertainment. Even the upcoming release of the new Sony PSP Go is devoid of a UMD port, digital downloads are your only option.
It is inevitable that the Internet will soon be the single point of access to every conceivable piece of information we require. Google cornered the search engine market many years ago, reinvented PPC advertising, and has acquired many Internet giants including the likes of YouTube, Postini, FeedBurner, DoubleClick and many more. If Google has our best interests at heart we shouldn’t be worried. However, current estimates value Google at $220 billion and growing. It is a commercial entity and exists to make money, something it does extremely well and for this reason it is biased. Google will make decisions based on profitability, not our best interests.
Consider that in a few years you will plot a route on Google maps, use your Google Android phone to navigate to your destination and pass the time by turning on your Google Chrome OS powered laptop. You then access the Internet using the Google Chrome browser, read your Google Gmail emails about your Google AdSense revenue or the latest Google Shopping purchase you made using Google Checkout.
In the future will we have a choice or will our decisions be made for us, by Google? Google applications will saturate our everyday lives encouraging us to interpret information in specific ways. Google already knows our habits, it is now building the platform to exploit them.
Some may argue that Google is not a monopoly because nearly all of its consumer services are free and for this reason they don’t have the power to raise prices. Google therefore has no ability to exclude competitors or block access to competing services. However, consider this, Google now has the power to affect our buying decisions, our ability to communicate and how we access and interpret information and knowledge. Many consider this the greatest power of all.
November 20th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Google has a lot of power, however, I must state that all profitably companies do something right, otherwise people would not give money to them, and just because Google makes money, does not mean it’s doing something wrong, or has money to it’s best interest. The more money it makes the more it can invest back into Google, and the more Google can grow.
It’s not the money making factor that concerns me, it’s the data collecting from users. Each search query, alongside with your IP is collected. If you use GMail, this is also collected, and let’s not forget that Google OS synchronizes it’s self with the internet. In other words all your actions are recorded. Imagine the US government demanded such information, a complete control and centralization of data, which in the wrong hands can be catastrophic.
November 20th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Hi Angelo,
Thanks for your comment, although, I think you misunderstood. I am not concerned about the profitability of the company, I am, as you are, concerned at the amount of power Google has to control our own personal data and information, however, the two are very closely linked.
What is evident is that the more capital a company has, the bigger it can grow and the more it can control and saturate the every day life of an individual minimising the ability for them to make their own decisions. In the end they are only presented with a single option and in this case that option is Google.