My thoughts about Google

Here's what I said on December 13th, at WSU, regarding Google:

The second example of using free government subsidy -- the Internet -- to build a business model is Google. A company that has found ways to amass unprecedented control over our personal information, our personal habits, and our advertising revenue. Are search and other Google tools good for us? Sure they are. But is their convenience worth the damage to our journalism, and to our privacy? Why should they be allowed to dominate the Internet without any limitations on their power, without any fees to pay the government and the public back for their use of this massive Internet subsidy. And why aren't they required to pay for the use of the content newspapers and journalism organizations generate?

With public subsidy comes public service responsibilities. There are a variety of solutions at the state and federal level, all of which should be pursued. The most immediate important are:

First, reign in and significantly reduce the market sector dominance and control of Google.

Second, develop appropriate fees and charges for the large, for-profit companies who are using the Internet.

Third, direct these fees and charges back to the funding of journalism.

Forth, require those who use others' original content to pay for that reuse.

There is great danger in allowing a single company the level of control and dominance Google enjoys. Without reigning in Google, our primary source of real news and journalism -- our nation's newspapers and their websites -- will continue to deteriorate with insufficient resources to invest in staff and content. Local communities will continue to lose their sense of place and economic vitality, and as a nation we will continue to lurch from crisis to crisis in the dark, as the world passes us by, and our freedoms reign.

The Internet is the granddaddy of all government subsidies. It was created for the public good, it has matured, it needs to be controlled like a public resource. It should be a tool to rejuvenate journalism, rather than the culprit in wiping out journalism.