Googler on Obama transition team
p2pnet news view | Politics:- Who will be Obama’s CTO? – p2pnet wondered yesterday, going on:
“There’s no question America looks like it’ll be an exciting and interesting place under Barack Obama.
“But it’s starting to look a little scary for the online world.
“Joe Biden is already cause for serious alarm, but now, will Google get an amazing foothold in the new White House?”
To be frank, we were joking, kind of, not really believing Barack Obama would actually go so far as to install a Googler in the White House.
Hopefully, things won’t reach that stage but he has, though, included someone who works for Do No Evil in his transition team.
“Indian-American Sonal Shah, an eminent economist who heads Google’s philanthropic arm, has been appointed an advisory board member by US President-elect Barack Obama to assist his team in smooth transition of power,” says the Indian Express.
“Perhaps the biggest threat to Google’s increasing dominance of internet search and advertising is the rising fear, justified or not, that Google’s broadening reach is giving it unchecked power,”" says WAToday, going on »»»
This scrutiny goes deeper than the skeptical eye that lawmakers and the US Justice Department have given to Google’s proposed ad partnership with Yahoo. Many objections to that deal are financial, and surround whether Google and Yahoo could unfairly drive up online ad prices.
A bigger long-term concern for Google could be criticisms over something less tangible – privacy. Increasingly, as Google burrows deeper into everyday computing, its product announcements are prompting questions about its ability to gather more potentially sensitive personal information from users.
Why does Google log the details of search queries for so long? What does it do with the information? Does it combine data from the search engine with information it collects through other avenues – such as its recently released web browser, Chrome?
Data gathered through most of the company’s services “disappears into a black hole once it hits the Googleplex,” said Simon Davies, director of London-based Privacy International, referring to Google’s headquarters. “It’s impossible to track that information.”
Meanwhile, also helping Obama decide who’ll help him run America is Julius Genachowski, a, “former executive of Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp,” says the Washington Post, adding:
“Genachowski, who served at the Federal Communications Commission as chief counsel to former Democratic Chairman Reed Hundt, has been advising Obama’s campaign on tech policy issues and chaired a group of advisors on the president-elect’s Tech & Innovation Plan.”
p2pnet – Who will be Obama’s CTO?, November 5, 2008
WAToday – Google’s browser labelled a ‘digital Trojan horse’, November 4, 2008
Indian Express – Indian-American Sonal Shah appointed Obama’s advisor, November 6, 2008
Washington Post – Obama Picks High-Tech and Washington Veteran to Transition Team, November 5, 2008
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November 7th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Yeah, and Google wasn’t biased in favor of Obama. Isn’t biased in favor of any number of liberal causes. Sure. . . Don’t be Evil, my ass.
November 13th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Ms. Shah had close association with VHP (World Hindu Council) that had openly supported the persecution and pogroms against the Christian and Muslim minorities of India. Recently world leaders such as the Pope and President Bush have condemned the pogroms against the Christian Community in the states of Orissa and Karnataka. The moderate leaders of the Indian American community have decided to ask Ms. Shah to clarify her position about VHP and its mother organization the RSS that was linked to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi who is revered by the President elect Obama.