Google Caves: Schmidt to Testify in DC
July 16, 2011
Apparently in an effort to avoid a subpoena, Google has agreed to send Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt to talk to the feds, reveals The Register in “Google gives in: Schmidt to face US antitrust grilling.” At first, Google didn’t want to commit its top executives. Writer Gavin Clarke states,
“Google had resisted a request to send either Schmidt or CEO Larry Page. Instead, the search giant offered its senior vice president for corporate development and legal affairs Dave Drummond.”
Schmidt is now expected to testify before the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights this fall. At issue is whether Google’s search rankings treat some web enterprises unfairly. The committee also wants to examine the company’s acquisitions, of which there have been many.
Keep a close eye on this one. The decision, whichever way it goes, will have a large impact on the future of the Web. Oh, Google is not yet a nation state; otherwise, Google would summon the feds to the Googleplex.
Stephen E Arnold, July 16, 2011
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