"Perceptions in Europe have been gradually changing over Google s dominance

[G+_Steve Chester]

"Perceptions in Europe have been gradually changing over Google’s dominance. The company commands about two-thirds of the United States search market, according to comScore, but close to 90 percent in Europe, excluding Russia."

http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/640350/s/3e45e63f/sc/30/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A140C0A90C0A90Ctechnology0Cgoogle0Eis0Etarget0Eof0Eeuropean0Ebacklash0Eon0Eus0Etech0Edominance0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

[G+_Dave Trautman]

You don't think Europe's experience with secret police, war, and government control might inform their objections a whole lot more than just some sort of anti-US feelings?

 

It seems to me enough people in Europe (of a certain age) grew up inside or on the doorstep of oppressive regimes dedicated to having control over your life by gathering secret information about you. They would know - first hand - or know someone who suffered an injustice by being implicated for a crime they did not commit.

 

Until enough people in the U.S. understand what this feels like (that group grows every day) then the police state legislatures and the information aggregator corporations will continue to clash with European sensibilities and be scratching their chins wondering about it. Even the Chinese people understand this better. They too have suffered overt terror tactics by their government(s) in living memory.

 

It's not really about Google, as such. It's a cultural thing.

[G+_George Kozi]

I may be in a small minority when I say that every big corporation (no matter how much we like them) should always be under strong scrutiny. It's good for society, it's good for the corporation. Look at it as a health check.

[G+_Dave Trautman]

In the US unfettered corporations is a mantra of the right. Even the most right-leaning EU proponents accept regulation of markets and oversight of large and influential organizations.