In launching a seven-day special investigation into the battle among states, corporations and public advocates for control over the Internet, The Guardian interviewed Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who warned of the isolating effect of online “walled gardens” put up by companies such as Facebook and Apple. —ARK
The Guardian:
He said he was most concerned by the efforts of countries such as China, Saudi Arabia and Iran to censor and restrict use of the internet, but warned that the rise of Facebook and Apple, which have their own proprietary platforms and control access to their users, risked stifling innovation and balkanising the web.
“There’s a lot to be lost,” he said. “For example, all the information in apps – that data is not crawlable by web crawlers. You can’t search it.”
Brin’s criticism of Facebook is likely to be controversial, with the social network approaching an estimated $100bn (£64bn) flotation. Google’s upstart rival has seen explosive growth: it has signed up half of Americans with computer access and more than 800 million members worldwide.
Brin said he and co-founder Larry Page would not have been able to create Google if the internet was dominated by Facebook. “You have to play by their rules, which are really restrictive,” he said. “The kind of environment that we developed Google in, the reason that we were able to develop a search engine, is the web was so open. Once you get too many rules, that will stifle innovation.”
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A Cooler Century? Wait and See
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By Denali42, May 9, 2012 at 10:14 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
But marcus, when speeders are pulled over on the highway, the rich or influential ones are let go while the lesser ones pay the fines. So you can expect that your interests and comments will be restricted while the trolls will have all “our” freedoms.
Report thisBy prisnersdilema, April 17, 2012 at 7:00 am Link to this comment
Of course he’s right but no one will listen.
The corporations whose incompetence and greed produced our current economy, want
to use the Internet to make lots of money. They see it as a goldmine, once they get rid
of some troubling freedoms, like free speech.
Their view of the internet is much like the midway at a carnival, with attractions offering
games and distractions for the rubes, who buy popcorn at astronomical prices, while
they try and pick your pocket.
What a neat deal for them.
Unfortunately for us all the end of internet freedom means the end of the Internet.
Report thisSomeone should read them the Goose that laid the Golden Egg. But they won’t
understand it because their thinking is too warped by greed.
By Maani, April 16, 2012 at 8:21 pm Link to this comment
Google is asking Facebook to “play by the rules.” But didn’t Google WRITE the rules? So isn’t this just a tad self-serving?
As for TD’s plans, gerard, I am also outraged, and have told them. Sadly, I think some of us are about to be disenfranchised under the guise of the “most good for the greatest number” philosophy.
Peace.
Report thisBy gerard, April 16, 2012 at 6:52 pm Link to this comment
Don’t worry. “They” won’t close the Internet because then “they” wouldn’t have any thing to “surveille” and hence no jobs for many of those 800,000 or so “surveillers” whose livelihood depends on their jobs “surveilling.”
Report thisBy moonraven, April 16, 2012 at 5:54 pm Link to this comment
Of course this will give me more free time to write other things apart from comments on political sites.
After all, I was accused today of being a truthdig addict, because the number of posts I have made here averages out to just a bit less than one per day over the past three years.
That’ll mean another, what, 30 seconds to a minute per day to write the equivalent of Rembrance of Things Past—in Spanish.
Whoopee!
Report thisBy moonraven, April 16, 2012 at 5:51 pm Link to this comment
Anything that smells of freedom is always stomped on as soon as someone figures out how to do that.
Good-bye Yellow Brick Road….
Report thisBy marcus medler, April 16, 2012 at 4:43 pm Link to this comment
Sounds like a monopolist, Oh! he is a monopolist—
Highways are patrolled, regulated and Tax supported. The roadway is PUBLIC, not private ie. operated for private gain. No one is upset when a drunk driver is removed, or an operator of a unsafe vehicle is forced to junk it or fix it, and everyone understands why a license is necessary.
Report thisBy gerard, April 16, 2012 at 2:07 pm Link to this comment
Hey, Truthdig! Let us know whether this has anything to do with the proposed TD changes, and if so what! We “commentators” out here are hanging by a thread, waiting to find out whether you are about to ruin our lives or not!
Report thisBy Maani, April 16, 2012 at 1:30 pm Link to this comment
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Google’s motto is “Do No Evil.” Yet they have become one of the most evil companies on the planet. And they are accusing Facebook and Apple of “evil?” Ha!
Personally, I don’t trust any of the three of those companies. I’d sooner trust a rabbit with a piece of lettuce. LOL.
Report this