Axel Springer's chief executive officer Mathias Dopfner has criticized Google Inc.'s online power and compared it to state monopolies.
In an open letter to Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, which was published in Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, Dopfner expressed his fear about the Internet giant's role in the online industry. He also asked if Google is planning to create a superstate where privacy laws and anti-trust laws are not applicable.
Axel Springer is the third largest media company in Europe. It has recently closed a partnership deal with Google. However, though he was very happy with the marketing relationship between his company and Google, and admires its success in the online industry, he felt scared of its influence. He wrote in the open letter that his company had not much option but to partner with Google because "we know no search engine alternative to increase our online reach."
Dopfner also wrote that Internet companies are more powerful than what users think. "The exception of biological viruses, there is nothing with such speed, efficiency and aggressiveness that spreads like these technology platforms, and this also lends its creators, owners and users with new power."
He even compared Google to state monopolies that manage the German postal and telecommunications services and warned that there was no monopoly that has survived long.
Dopfner's open letter came in as a response to Schmidt's column describing Google's relationship with Axel Springer. Schmidt commented that there were times that there were times that they find it hard dealing with the media company but clarified that they were always able to work things out.
Google has not commented on the open letter yet.
Just recently, Google has updated its terms of service to inform users about the automatic scanning of their e-mails. The changes are made to avoid complaints and lawsuits related to violation of privacy rights. Some users expressed their disapproval of this term as it seemed to defy state and federal privacy and wiretapping laws. However, the company said that e-mail scanning cannot be avoided as it is part of the delivery process.