Google Releases ‘Guide’ for Customers Regarding Senate Hearing
- Posted on September 21, 2011 at 1:00pm by
Liz Klimas
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Google’s Executive Chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt will testify before the U.S. Senate today about charges that Google may be abusing its search engine dominance to stifle competition. But before this hearing with the antitrust subcommittee, which will be streamed live starting at 2 p.m., Google released a viewers guide to what listeners will hear about the company and what it wants them to keep in mind.
Included in the guide are some of Google’s defenses, which include sentiments that “AOL and MySpace were called ‘gatekeepers’ too” and “Google ranks search results to deliver the best answers to users [...] not political viewpoints, and not advertising dollars.”
This Financial News Network report provides a brief overview of what’s expected from both sides:
According to an AP story published by The Blaze, the Federal Trade Commission issued Google subpoenas on June 23. With Google handling two out of every three Internet searches in the United States, rival search engines say that Google manipulates the results to direct users to its own sites instead of those which would be considered its competition.
The New York Times BITS blog reports excerpts from Schmidt‘s prepared testimony that highlight’s Google’s positive effect on economic growth:
Google’s success, Mr. Schmidt writes, is a byproduct of its corporate ethos of putting consumer interests first. “Keeping up requires constant investment and innovation,” he writes, “and if Google fails in this effort users can and will switch. The cost of going elsewhere is zero, and users can and do use other sources to find the information they want.”
Mr. Schmidt asserts that Google’s search and advertising marketplace “helped generate $64 billion in economic activity for hundreds of thousands of small businesses throughout the United States.”
Politico has more from Schmidt’s testimony:
“We believe that the FTC’s inquiry will reveal an enthusiastic company filled with people who believe we have only just scratched the surface of what’s possible. That passion to do better will not only serve our users well, it will serve our nation well, by helping create the new jobs and economic growth that America needs.”
The New York Times notes that 13 years ago a similar hearing was taking place with Microsoft in the hot seat:
“Google is a great American success story, but its size, position and power in the marketplace have raised concerns about its business practices, and raised the question of what responsibilities come with that power,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, who is a member of the antitrust subcommittee and who as the attorney general of Connecticut played a leading role among the states that sued Microsoft.
Today Google, like Microsoft then, is both admired and feared. Google has used the riches from its dominance in search and search advertising to expand into video distribution with YouTube, smartphone software with Android and Web browsers with Chrome. It has added online commerce offerings in local retail and restaurants, comparison shopping and travel, and folded them into its search engine, prompting complaints that Google is giving its businesses preferred placement in search results.
In Google’s blog post on June 24, it stated its mission is just to “do what’s best for the user“ and ”provide as much information as quickly as possible”:
Search helps you go anywhere and discover anything, on an open Internet. Using Google is a choice—and there are lots of other choices available to you for getting information: other general-interest search engines, specialized search engines, direct navigation to websites, mobile applications, social networks, and more.
The hearing is formally dubbed “The Power of Google: Serving Consumers or Threatening Competition?” and will include representatives from Yelp and Nextag.
This story has been updated for clarity.
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rfycom
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 12:42pmThis guy really needs a you know what kind of sexual job performed on him. He looks like he ain’t had none is a looooooogggggg time PEOPLE.
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 11:58amFree Market – let them be !
That said, Google is attempting to “shape” the interpretation of what the public sees and hears – they are trying to “steer” the conversation. I‘m sure it is the right decision from Google’s marketing and legal departments, but, it is still manipulative. As such, it is also insulting to our intelligence – to think that we NEED them to tell us what we are hearing.
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jessieH
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 11:22amI try not to use “google” at all times. I have seen their biased BS, before.
Report Post »Swordmaiden
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 10:33amNot This Time, Folks!
Report Post »There was an up and coming Search Engine, FAR better than Google, named Kartoo.com. It was created and owned by a couple of guys in France. It had a Genie as your guide, and Solar Systems clustered planets, to represent the various interpretations and locations of your search results. It could pulll a communique between the FDA and the Drug Companies showing a warning to put a Black Box Warning, as directed instead of minimized as just something from all drugs of that type, or a gedcom file containing that name, things nothing else will find. It was written up as THE Best New Search Engine by the raters in the UK in 2006-8. But, whenever I tried to pull it up to show family on their computers, the page “could not load” or “was not found”. If Google was even on the computer, it could not be found, sometimes, even when I typed it in the Address Bar. Shortly thereafter, I had to change my Homepage to Kartoo.com and mark that I was using the UK Version to even get there.
Then one day I got on there to see an announcement thanking all their patrons and apologizing for ending the Search Engine. No explanation, But I had called them, spoken with them in France about the problem. Tell me Google did not putt them out of business!
I do NOT believe Google Uses Fair Business Practices.
The_Almighty_Creestof
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 1:01amSo, if Subway Sandwich shops make 2/3rds of the subs in the USA, and decide to no longer sell Frito Lay chips and Coca Cola because they came out with their own snacks/soft drinks…we’d have a problem with that?
Does McDonalds have to start putting toy “Jack-in-the-boxes” in their happy meals?
Does TV Guide have to start enclosing a list of is being broadcast on radio during each time slot as well?
This is just wasting more and more of our tax dollars and time. No different than frivilous lawsuits in the everyday world.
Report Post »Pigfarmer
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 9:05pmLet the free market do its thing…. If google is to the left and still does great in the market… all power to them… let the market place choose
Report Post »Injunator
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 4:32pm2 Corinthians 2:11
Report Post »Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Job 5:12
He disappointeth the DEVICES of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform [their] enterprise.
2 Esdras 9:20
So I considered the world, and, behold, there was peril because of the DEVICES that were come into it.
TomFerrari
Posted on September 22, 2011 at 11:56am“devices” means the “plans” or “schemes” of men.
Even Websters defines it as “a scheme to deceive”.
Granted, the electronic devices (machines) may also be the devices (ill-meaning plans) of men.
But, let‘s not read into the Scripture something that isn’t quite there.
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Zen Patriot
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 4:22pmIt’s called free market capitalism. Go use Bing if you don’t like it. What, Bing sucks? Exactly the point!
Report Post »Viet Vet
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 4:36pmI never use Google, it’s way to leftist. Not that Yahoo is any less leftist, they both turned Chinese Dissidents over to the ChiCom government. Never to be heard from again. Both are no different than AP, NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, MSLSD, PBS, NPR, Washington Compost, NY Slimes, Time, Newsweek, US News, USA Today, etc.
Report Post »blue_sky
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 5:59pmFree-market capitalism is when smaller competitors can get a fair shake in court to address their grievances. But as was demonstrated with Microsoft and other monopolies before, under today’s CORPORATISM, the biggest donor to the government will prevail. The size is also a factor in the eyes of the government – number of potential voters to please.
RON PAUL and young free generation will restore free market over time.
Report Post »RootsOfTruth
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 2:59pmI unplugged from Google long ago. Too many questions about privacy & Govt mingling.
Report Post »blue_sky
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 6:00pmGood choice.
Report Post »Any_One_But_Obama
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 2:55pmTRACK THE SATELLITE FIREBALL… (Satellite falling from Space)
Did you see the other application that was created by Google: http://url2it.com/hqfm
Report Post »lacabeza
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 2:55pmI stopped using Google because of their involvement in the Middle East and our government. If they weren’t involved like this I would still be using it. They have good products and service and there ARE alternatives. BING, Yahoo, etc. Google will make a mistake like AOL, etc. and there will be another to take its place.
Report Post »FaithfulFriend
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 2:37pmIf you‘re business website’s not on the first page of Google’s rankings for at least 2 key phrases… just go ahead and shut the doors. The party’s over. You won’t make it. Why? Because too many people are too lazy to go to the next 10 results.
Google is way to powerful only because people keep using it and taking their “free” stuff as compensation. The hounds to the hunted.
Report Post »DrFrost
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 2:33pmApparently Google hasn’t been donating enough to the DNC.
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