Germany's justice minister has warned that Google is becoming a monopoly with too much power and too much information about citizens. Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger made the statements in an interview with weekly magazine Der Spiegel.
Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said she was concerned that the Internet giant was gaining too much information about citizens via programs like Google Earth, Gmail, and Google Books. She also expressed concerns about the power that Google wields.
It is certainly true that Google has so much control over the search market, which an incredibly high percentage that Microsoft has only recently begun to make some inroads into with its new Bing search engine. Google also has much control over the ad market, and its purchase of AdMob in the U.S. is coming under U.S scrutiny.
Additionally, Google is making inroads into new markets, such as smartphones, with the Android platform, and operating systems, with its upcoming Chrome OS. It has also produced Chrome, which has recently moved into third place among web browsers.
Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said:
"All in all, what's taking shape there to a large extent is a giant monopoly, similar to Microsoft. My initial response is not to ban something or stop something. But I do want to create more transparency and ensure that users know what is going on with their data.
"I think the companies have an obligation here, and a lot of things ought to be improved. If that doesn't happen soon we may have to take action as legislators."
Europe and the European Union (EU) have shown no hesitation against taking action against what it feels are unfair monopolistic actions. It has taken action against Microsoft in the past, as Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger implied.
Written by Michael Santo
HULIQ.com
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