Will google be bought out?

[HollyforRP]

It's obvious that News corporations want to buy out internet media. Do you think google will be bought out or allow a merger if not already? It was pretty obvious to me when a story came out that google was the only search engine that did not comply with invasion of privacy by handing out search records that it was a lie to keep people using the most popular search engine.

It turns out to be true. So do you think Google will be bought out and by who?

[Iowa4Paul]

I think google has some high standards.

If they ever did merge, we'd be fucked.

[Mini-Me]

I doubt Google will ever be bought out, but even if they are, they are merely a search engine - they are not the be-all, end-all of the Internet. You do not need to go through Google to connect to a website...but you do need to go through your ISP. That means the two largest threats to alternative media are:

The government's desire to monitor all emails, web searches, and file attachments (http://rawstory.com/news/2007/US_drafting_plan_to_allow_government_0114.html), and
The up-and-coming ability of ISP's (local, regional, or national) to directly filter and shape traffic as they see fit. This relates to the net neutrality issue, but that's dangerous territory as well (as we do not want to let the federal government "save us" from the corporate ISP's by setting the precedent of unconstitutional legislation to regulate the Internet...). There are some good threads on the forum about this issue...

[ronpaulblogsdotcom]

Googles market cap (Value now) is $166 B.

News Corp is $60B.

So it would be quite difficult for News Corp to do that. And I doubt Google would entertain it anyways. I was surprised the WSJ sold to them from long time privately held to the dirty News Corp group.

[Kludge]

Google is the most libertarian company listed.

It's big, it sucks up money faster then a black hole, it provides "free" services to the public, and has a good reputation with employees. It's like some type of magical Puritan corporation created by God.


I like it.

[Mini-Me]

I agree with Kludge for the most part...for a company of its size, Google seems to register uncommonly low on the "evil scale." I don't like their information-collecting practices (and don't trust them for this reason), I don't like how they bowed down to censorship in China, and I don't like how their "News" section is so utterly complicit with the MSM, but...on the balance, they're really not that bad. After all, they now own Youtube, which has probably done more for Ron Paul than any other site in the universe :)

[HollyforRP]

Google owns you tube.

[ForLiberty-RonPaul]

Google is the most libertarian company listed.

It's big, it sucks up money faster then a black hole, it provides "free" services to the public, and has a good reputation with employees. It's like some type of magical Puritan corporation created by God.


I like it.

Google is in bed with the CIA.

[phixion]

I agree with Kludge for the most part...for a company of its size, Google seems to register uncommonly low on the "evil scale." I don't like their information-collecting practices (and don't trust them for this reason), I don't like how they bowed down to censorship in China, and I don't like how their "News" section is so utterly complicit with the MSM, but...on the balance, they're really not that bad. After all, they now own Youtube, which has probably done more for Ron Paul than any other site in the universe :)

They didn't bow down to China - they simply followed the law of the country.

Did you expect them to act out some sort of civil disobediance? They're a company, for crying out loud. If they want to operate in China, they must follow the rules!

I don't get why everyone makes such a big deal about it.

Pete

[Kludge]

Google is in bed with the CIA.

-_- You dare doubt my deity's honorable intentions? They manipulate the government on behalf of internet freedom (which HAPPENS to coincide with their ability to freely advertise).

Proof please (following a law doesn't count as "in bed" as far as I'm concerned, only consensual sex counts).

[ForLiberty-RonPaul]

-_- You dare doubt my deity's honorable intentions? They manipulate the government on behalf of internet freedom (which HAPPENS to coincide with their ability to freely advertise).

Proof please (following a law doesn't count as "in bed" as far as I'm concerned, only consensual sex counts).

http://dailynightly.msnbc.com/2007/06/google_the_cia.html

http://www.threadwatch.org/node/9612

http://blogs.webpronews.com/2006/10/30/does-google-have-cia-ties/

proof?? :rolleyes: I'm not nor will I ever be in nor put myself in a situation to ever be able to provide that kind of proof. However, in this day and age, I will never doubt big government's ability to plow big corporations from behind while they watch themselves in the mirror.

[Mini-Me]

They didn't bow down to China - they simply followed the law of the country.

Did you expect them to act out some sort of civil disobediance? They're a company, for crying out loud. If they want to operate in China, they must follow the rules!

I don't get why everyone makes such a big deal about it.

Pete

Why do people make a fuss? That's easy. Regardless of China's laws, they were still being an accomplice to tyranny, and for the most pedestrian reason in the world, money. Were the people in charge principled, they would have said, "We will not censor our site for you. If you want, you can block us with your great firewall, but then you'd be missing out on our services." China needs Google more than Google needs China, which means that Google wasted an opportunity to negotiate and convince China to lighten up. Besides...to good people, there are things in this world more important than cash.