Former CEO of Opera Software, says that it is time for Google to “return to not being evil.” Now I do not think a day goes by that I do not see one of us “regular people” say pretty much the same thing. In fact it is said so often in the HardForum that it is almost a joke. When someone in a prominent position, such as Jon von Tetzchner, it carries a bit more weight. And while Tetzchner has an axe to grind seemingly, he still makes some very good points. Seens as though his Adwords account what turned off after he spoke out against some of Google’s tracking policies. Well worth the read and outlines why many have been saying that Google needs to be regulated as a utility.



I had several interviews where I voiced concerns about the data gathering and ad targeting practices – in particular, those of Google and Facebook. They collect and aggregate far too much personal information from their users. I see this as a very serious, democracy-threatening problem, as the vast targeting opportunities offered by Google and Facebook are not only good for very targeted marketing, but also for tailored propaganda. The idea of the Internet turning into a battlefield of propaganda is very far away from the ideal.

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Source: [H]ardOCP – Former Opera CEO Calls Google Evil