European Media mogul questions Google’s business model

A European media mogul has said in a German newspaper that Google had become an overgrown monopoly.

Mathias Döpfner, CEO of German publisher Axel Springer SE, one of the largest multimedia companies in Europe, and the third-largest media company in Germany, questioned whether Google had become a monopoly in a letter titled "Why we fear Google" in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Feuilleton.

According to Tech Times the letter came as a response to Google chief Eric Schmidt, who wrote about the relationship between the two companies as they looked to work together in a "profitable partnership."

According to Schmidt, Google was a beneficial company for the world, that looked to help media move forward, though Döpfner felt otherwise, saying that Google had grown quite large quickly and held sway over others, such as directing people through search results to its own products over other potentially superior services or products.

Being a large publisher Springer SE required a large internet presence and so agreed to work with Google as it had little choice, Döpfner said. He said the company knew no search engine alternative to increase its online reach.

Döpfner noted that Google was such a large part of the internet, that in any other business, it would more or less be considered a monopoly.

He added, that the business model of Google, "in less reputable circles would be called extortion."

Döpfner added Google founder Larry Page dreamt of a place with no privacy laws and without democratic accountability.

Referring to comments Page had made about the company wanting to develop ideas but being unable to because they were illegal, Dopfner wrote, "Does this mean that Google is planning to operate in a legal vacuum, without the hassle of anti-trust and privacy? A kind of superstate?"

He warned Google that in the history of economics, monopolies did not survive long.

Meanwhile, BBC reported that Dopfner's comments were not just restricted to Google - the founder of social network Facebook had also came under fire.

According to Döpfner Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg was asked at a conference how Facebook stored data and protected users' privacy.

Zuckerberg replied that he did not understand the question, adding those who had nothing to hide, had nothing to fear.

Döpfner said he tried to think about the sentence, which was terrible. It was a mindset fostered in totalitarian regimes not in liberal societies, he added, saying such a sentence could also be said by the head of the Stasi or other intelligence service or a dictatorship.