According to Pamela Jones Harbour, who is a lawyer for the Fulbright & Jaworski firm and who represents Microsoft as well as other technology companies, believes Google is the “emperor” of the internet with data-collection and privacy-invading policies. Harbour also believes that this is very dangerous and needs to stop.
In her opinion, Google is the Internet’s emperor due to Google claiming more than 80% of all internet searches and 98% of all searches on mobile devices. According to Harbour, the FTC (where she worked for seven years before joining the law firm) has been investigation Google for two years for illegally stiffing competition. “This would be a severe setback for Internet users. It will allow Google to continue to amass unbridled control over data gathering, with grave consequences for privacy and for consumer choice,” Harbour believes. Google is also anti-democratic, she believes, because Google doesn’t allow its users to make choices about the way their data is used. Harbour also brings up a good point. Google should no longer be considered a “search engine company” or an “online services company,” but rather a “data collection company.” Harbour also points out that Google once said that “Democracy on the Web works” and now that the search engine giant has become so dominant, Google has become the web’s “emperor.” Hit the source to read her full opinion piece.
