You Have Been Warned, Fear Google!
August 14, 2017
It is hard not to subscribe to Google’s free services, such as their email, office suite, web analytics, Google Home, the Nest tool, and, of course, the search engine. Google promised not to use their services and powers for evil, but Big Brother looms over Alphabet Inc. like an ominous, dark shadow. Google and other search engines, except for DuckDuckGo, collect information about you. It is frightening how much information Google actually knows about a person, especially because it is freely given. TopTenz shares “10 Reasons You Should Fear Google,” listing why Google is more alarming than Big Brother.
CEO Eric Schmidt rubs shoulders with the political elite and has donated money to people in both the Republican and Democratic parties. His unknown power reminds us of Bob Iger, Michael Eisner, and Jeffery Katzenberg. Google can influence foreign governments more than we think, the list shares incidents with China’s totalitarian law and urged on the Iranian revolution. Google is looking to harvest the finances that are emerging in new, democratized countries:
The piece would go on to argue that the technology provided by the private sector would be the driving force in “democratizing” hostile and third world nations, thus making them ripe for private investment.
Soon after, the social media revolutions of Tunisia and then Egypt would excite many in the West, particularly in the government sector, giving companies like Google even more sway in the highest circles. Although many internet based companies tried to carve out a niche in the newfound space, Google had already established themselves as major players.
Perhaps the most dangerous of all is that Google can shape the way people consume and retrieve information. Google could choose and select the type of information its user’s access, meaning it could hide the truth, push a political agenda, and further aggravate the amount of fake news plaguing the Internet.
Some of this is true and some of this is fake. Google is as profit driven as any company, but at the same time, they are working on projects that would benefit humanity. Adding more competition to the market is one way to curb Google’s “evil” intentions.
Whitney Grace, August 14, 2017
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