Reality Check: Google Not Above Politics

In this wonderful place called the land of Internet, where most of us can sleep safely tucked into our own little corner of cyberspace, we like to think that the big brother is on our side. After all, Orwell's term was originally chosen to conjure up images of protection, security, brotherly love, and many such wholesome things.

It's a nice thought.

But what did the statesman say?

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
~ Lord Acton, Letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton, 1887

The plain and simple truth of the matter is that Google is a company like any other. It is made up of people, and is not immune from the temptations and corruption of old-fashioned politics. However, if Google is a brand name in your house, and you use Google's search engine exclusively, you likely won't be hearing about this side of Google any time soon.

If your free e-mail has the Google Mail logo (i.e. gmail), you drive from place to place using free directions printed from Google Maps, and you go to google.com to translate words into foreign languages (for free), you are getting to see the philanthropic side of Google Inc. It's the side they prefer you to see. Don't forget though, philanthropy isn't always what it's cracked up to be. Hamas has a philanthropic side too.

Now I'll be the first to admit, Google is great! I use it for all of the above uses, and (generally) use Google.com as my primary search engine. However, I do so with one eye open. For better or worse, I've noticed a fair amount of my conservative email winds up getting filtered by Google's "Spam" Filter if I'm not careful. And if I'm doing a search on a conservative-themed issue, Google likes to censor the quality results and just leave the quacks on occasion. Interestingly enough, Yahoo.com doesn't seem to have the same problem.

Could it be because, unlike Google, Obama isn't looking to appoint the Yahoo CEO to a position in his administration? Nah...that's probably just coincidence. After all, all things being equal, as a president you appoint those with whom you are like-minded. Most likely, the CEO of Google is simply one of the like-minded individuals being looked at for the job. And that's just the problem for those of us who aren't "like-minded". When you get to be an Internet Giant, like Google, there's a temptation (at times a very strong one) to do more than simply return the results of an Internet search.

Inevitably, you begin to feel the temptation to direct people not simply to the news but, more particularly, to the "right" news; the "right" results....according to your own political beliefs and convictions. After all, benevolence has certain characteristics; like the desire to "protect" those beneath you from potentially dangerous influences. And that kind of big brother....can be the scariest kind of all.

For example:

Article 1:Google Complicit in State Censorship in China

Article 2:Tech Consumer Article: Google Scandal

Article 3:What is "Sandboxing"? And why does Google do it?

Article 4:New York Times Article: Stuck in Google's Doghouse

Article 5:Googlegate in North Carolina

Article 6:Rachel Whetstone hired by Google after Scandal Forces her out of Politics

I suppose the moral of the story is simply this: The virtual world of Cyberspace is populated by corrupt human beings, just like the physical world. In reality, we have no right to expect those who own online institutions to be more averse to corruption simply because they don't operate in the "physical" world.

When all is said and done, just remember: Walk through Cyberspace with the same open eyes that you would crossing the street back home. And don't be afraid to hold big brother accountable when he (inevitably) succumbs to temptation to do bad things.