It took the European Union far less time, than in the case of Microsoft to probe search giant and hopeful internet monopolist Google for its privacy policies.
Google as the lone major player in the search market has set the tone and is guided by what many think of as its own laws and regulations.
'Privacy' translates in 'secrecy' in Google. The main areas to watch out for are:
- AdWords pricing (the least transparent method of charging advertisers)
- AdSense revenue share (another black hole in the industry)
- User data (the company has accumulated so much information that is now considered a global information agency)
But its not only the EU that is concerned about privacy. Several internet activists and copyright and freedom of information sharing advocates as well as members of the open source community are increasingly voicing their concerns about the giant's domination of what was formerly known as a free information highway.
Google knows better than not to react to this. Microsoft was slated about its monopoly over the software market and the brand damage was as large as the payments Mr Gates still makes to third world countries.
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