<![CDATA[Dan Gillmor on Grassroots Journalism, Etc.: Google Emulates Microsoft, Uh Oh:
Several years ago, Microsoft was pounded — correctly — for the “Smart Tags” feature it was slipping onto people’s PCs. This essentially created hyperlinks where none had existed before, and sent people clicking on those links to Microsoft-chosen content. It was insidious, and a number of folks, with Walt Mossberg in the lead, denounced the move so loudly that the company was basically forced to back away. (Of course, Microsoft being Microsoft, the company slipped it back into Office in the 2003 version, one more reason I didn’t “upgrade” on my Windows PC.)
Now Google, using its own growing clout, is doing something similar with its latest “Google Toolbar” for Internet Explorer on PCs, says Search Engine Watch.
I’m telling you, folks, assume Google is not “not evil.” That doesn’t mean you must assume the company is evil, only that you can’t assume it or its technology is neutral, adding or subtracting nothing from the world we know. Assume that your privacy is at risk. Assume that your hard work creating something of value, whether a piece of writing, a picture—whatever—will eventually fall under the control of a company that is not carefully monitored by its customers to prevent the loss of control over information.]]>