Thirteen years after Microsoft was pilloried for anti-trust practices in the United States and Europe, the Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee is setting its sights on Google. Google’s dominance over the internet search and advertising business has allowed the company to turn into a behemoth, expanding into streaming video, smartphones, web browsers, and other areas, including its acquisition of restaurant ratings group Zagat’s earlier this month. But now the federal government is investigating whether Google gives its own businesses preferred placement in its search results, thwarting competition. Steve Lohr wrote about this story for today’s New York Times, and discusses whether Google is living up to its unofficial motto of “don’t be evil.”
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