The opening of the Senate Hearing into Google is quite amusing when considered in the broader global context. Regardless of whether you believe Google's arguments or not, episodes such as these leave me wondering whether the overall business and political environment in the US is reaching a point of being destructive.
Companies seem to be reaching for their lawyers instead of their innovators to compete. The patent wars are an example of protection of intellectual property rights gone out of control. Apple suing Samsung in just about every significant market looks remarkably about hobbling competition than protecting it's patents.
The US Senate seems hell bent on investigating it's major corporations like Microsoft and Google but yet the big players on Wall Street who in no small way precipitated the GFC get away with a hand slap and a fine and carry on their merry old ways.
Their Chinese and Singaporeans who many hold up as shining examples of economic miracles must be bewildered at all this rather wasteful and destructive behavior. There is effectively no anti-Trust in both these countries and their big corporations do not get investigated for expanding their operations or influence. In fact they are encouraged to do so.
I cannot imagine a Chinese company being investigated simply because it is judged to be wielding too much power. I am still trying figure out whether Google is actually being asked to justify anything that they are purported to have committed which is wrong, harmful or illegal.
If all that can be said is that if we are so afraid of Google misusing its market share and power then we had all better hope that the next successful global company is not a Chinese company because they are not going to be constrained by the likes of that which Google now and Microsoft previously have been subject to. When Eric Schmidt that they could be only days away from being obsoleted the new player could very well come from China and then what would the US authorities do?
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