10

7 comments

[–] [Deleted] 0 points (+1|-1)

Google isn't a public service it's a business. It's ironic that free speech gets shut down by the free market; but business is business.

[–] Justintoxicated [OP] 3 points (+3|-0) Edited

but business is business

That is part of the issue, electric companies, phone companies, etc.. are businesses however they all are required to abide by certain regulations so as to protect public interest. Often there are anti-trust orders to prevent companies from having an undue influence over the public space (Standard Oil, Microsoft, etc..), if you think about Google they control the access to websites and content (largest search engine), the world's largest advertising platform (over 70% of the market), the largest access to data, several of the largest content platforms, and a myriad of other services. If you control what content gets seen and what content is allowed to generate advertising income with such a hugely disproportionate market share, and massive barriers to entry in all of these areas (patents, legislation, resources) do you even have a free market in these areas?