Murdoch's Newscorp accuses Google of having "overwhelming power"
Rupert Murdoch has intervened in a European row over the power of Google, with News Corp accusing the search engine of being "contemptuous of intellectual property" and having "cynical management" that provides "a platform for piracy and the spread of malicious networks".
In a letter to Joaquin Almunia, the European Commissioner at the head of a long-running investigation of allegations that Google abuses its dominance of the web search market to crush competition and exploit publishers, Robert Thomson, chief executive of News Corp launched a scathing attack.
He said: "There is no doubt that the case is one of profound significance for many media companies in Europe but also for the people of Europe, whose ability to access information, independently and meaningfully, is put at risk by the overwhelming power of Google.
"The company has evolved from a wonderfully feisty, creative Silicon Valley startup to a vast, powerful, often unaccountable bureaucracy, which is sometimes contemptuous of intellectual property and routinely configures its search results in a manner that is far from objective.
"The shining vision of Google’s founders has been replaced by a cynical management, which offers advertisers impressively precise data about users and content usage, but has been a platform for piracy and the spread of malicious networks, all while driving more traffic and online advertising dollars to Google."
In my opinion I don't think Google can be accused of having too much power considering Newscorp publishes the Wall Street Journal, The Times and The Sun. I think Murdoch is instead angered and jealous of the power Google now has as a result of new and digital media, power he used to hold when print was the dominant media. Google are simply running their business by adapting and selling advertisements to users, we cannot criticise a company for trying to make money, which is inevitably their aim, as it is every other company's, including newscorp; Google have simply exploited a money making strategy that is not available or as fruitful to newscorp, which it not Google's fault.
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