Google's Claws

In most Western countries, Google steamrolls over all other search engines. It has market shares that range from 88 percent in Canada all the way up to 97 percent in India. The American giant’s virtual monopoly gives it too much power. We should be glad that last week, a judgment by the Court of Justice of the European Union forced Google to erase references to a 1998 seizure of a Spanish citizen’s assets from its index.

The man argued that the dispute had been resolved a long time ago and that references to this incident caused him prejudice. The decision is far from perfect and will have adverse effects, but it is new, developing case law; several more judgments will be needed before the law can correct the current disequilibrium.

This judgment could allow anyone to embellish their past by erasing embarrassing elements. Only time will tell if new mechanisms will be needed to avoid going down a slippery slope.

France, which fears becoming a “digital colony” of the United States, was delighted with the judgment. The Secretary of State for Digital Affairs, Axelle Lemaire, stated that “the current rules of competition law are not applicable at all to the digital sector.” In Germany, the Merkel government is considering tightening its laws so Google will not be able to favor certain companies with its search engine.

Some countries are taking a stand and protecting governments’ spheres of influence. Although states can abuse their powers, the fact remains that citizens can express themselves through their governments. Through the law and the courts, citizens set the limits they feel are necessary for their safety.

In addition to its search engine, Google dominates the market with its other platforms, such as YouTube videos, Gmail e-mail service, and its Android operating system for mobile platforms. This kind of power should seriously worry us.

The European Court’s judgment contributes to the essential debate about the nature of information that is accumulating at an alarming rate on the Web. In the physical world, personal information is protected. Eventually, we must find a way to transpose these protective measures to the digital sphere, even if the Googles and Facebooks of this world treat privacy rights like a relic of the past that is destined to disappear.

Recent history has shown us that empires can disappear—especially those in the digital world. Microsoft was unable to enter the cellphone market and its latest version of Windows was a failure. Blackberry, once believed to be indestructible, imploded.

Google may seem invincible, but its position of strength could make it vulnerable to antitrust measures, like those that led to the breakup of AT&T in 1982. This has already been alluded to by large publications in Germany.

Considering Google’s monopoly in web searching, could we not treat it as an intrinsic part of the Web that should be managed by the community?

It is not a far-fetched idea. There is already an organization, the World Web Consortium, W3C, whose goal is to define the standards and protocols that would allow the Web to reach its full potential. There are nearly 400 member-organizations: governments, universities and businesses of all sizes, including Google. It would be the ideal platform to ensure a search engine is independent, fair and beneficial to everyone.