websense

So here’s an interesting bit of web news… a group called Consumer Watchdog sent the Justice Department a Google made presentation today. The presentation attempts to illustrate how they do NOT have a monopoly on search and online advertising. The Watchdog group sent two copies, one original, and one that had been marked up by an expert, disputing the claims that Google is not monopolistic.

The commenter apparently describes the original document as using a “Charm offensive” to try and combat the claims that Google has gotten too big, too intrusive and too powerful. I’m thinking that there is a fine line to tread here, as I am not sure it is needed to have the Justice Department involved in a large, successful company, just because it has been more successful than others. Who needs government sticking it’s ever increasingly large nose into everything, every industry?

Sure, Google’s profits have increased by about 6%, while Microsoft and Yahoo! are both down, and the share of advertising that Google sells is disproportionately large compared to Microsoft, Yahoo! and AOL, taking in about 65% of online revenue. And there is the case to be made that while Google holds everyone else’s feet to the fire on openness and privacy issues, apparently there was no mention made of privacy in the presentation from Google.

So what say you? Is Google so huge that we need the Justice Department keeping tabs on them? Do we really want government stepping in yet again, or do we take another tack, which would be somewhat difficult, as every SEO client in the world’s first question is “How do I increase my ranking in Google?”. Is it even possible to fight the Google giant?

For more information, and downloads of each side of the argument:

http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/Googlepresentation.pdf

http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/charmoffensive.pdf

http://www.consumerwatchdog.org