Wired: The Hard Consequences of Google’s Soft Power

Google and parent company Alphabet resist being perceived as a global monopoly in need of additional regulation. Regulators around the globe struggle to keep up with the many high-tech firms that both provide an array of information and collect data on user behavior. The European Union fined Google €2.5 billion for prioritizing its comparison-shopping service in search engine results and expects the company to end the practice before the end of September. Media attention has also focused on Google’s relationships with university researchers, nonprofits and think tanks that analyze antitrust issues and funding – and why some ties end abruptly. New America Foundation, funded by Google, and Open Markets, a group that opposes monopolies, have parted ways, and analysts reviewing related emails suggest that Google seeks “openness” and advance notifications about events and articles to ensure inclusion of Google’s perspective, explains Nitasha Tiku for Wired. Problems may emerge before such relationships even begin. Universities and other groups eye large sources of wealth, trying to court favor and attract the attention of potential donors. – YaleGlobal