When Regulation Fails: A Snapshot of the Google
October 5, 2020
An entity called SEOButler published “The End of Google?” This is a good question like one of those easy ones on a mid term exam in Art History 105. The essay is longer, and it includes data about the size of the Google. Here’s a passage DarkCyber noted:
Google, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon have amassed wealth and power never before seen in human history. Given their almost limitless resources, the Big 4 can likely avoid, or at least delay, significant changes to the way they do business for years to come… But there’s little doubt that the impetus for governments worldwide to take meaningful action to curb the big tech monopolies is growing. Both political will and public opinion increasingly demand it.
What’s interesting is that the data have been gathered by a search engine optimization firm. These companies, despite their ubiquity, have faced an increasingly steep climb. The fiddling with text and tags in order to snooker the Google search results is a hit and miss business. If someone wants traffic, it is pay to play time; that is, buy advertising. Mother Google requires cash to pay for the almost uncontrollable costs of operating its “system.”
The answer to the question, in DarkCyber opinion, is, “No.” After decades of ineffectual regulation, Googzilla is quite happy having the world as its personal hunting ground. One can check the territory with a Google search or using Google Local.
Stephen E Arnold, October 5, 2020