By Dr. Mercola

Google, by far one of the greatest monopolies that ever existed, poses a unique threat to anyone concerned about health, supplements, food and your ability to obtain truthful information about these and other issues. And, while not the sole threat to privacy, Google is definitely one of the greatest. Over time, Google has positioned itself in such a way that it’s become deeply embedded and involved in your day-to-day life.

It’s important to realize that Google catches every single thing you do online if you’re using a Google-based feature, and that the data is being used to build powerful personality profiles. As previously reported by Gawker:¹

“Every word of every email sent through Gmail and every click made on a Chrome browser is watched by the company. ‘We don’t need you to type at all,’ [Google co-founder Eric] Schmidt once said. ‘We know where you are. We know where you’ve been. We can more or less know what you’re thinking about.’”

How these profiles — with capabilities akin to mindreading — are ultimately put to use is anyone’s guess. The main purpose of this data collection is said to be for marketing purposes, allowing companies to target users with a known interest in certain activities or products. This is bad enough, but the profiles could just as easily be used for more nefarious and liberty-infringing purposes, and we’re already seeing some evidence that this is taking place.

Please also understand that they are the world’s greatest artificial intelligence (AI) company, having purchased Deep Mind for $400 billion several years ago. Deep Mind now employs over 700 AI researchers, the largest collection anywhere in the world.

They are responsible for defeating the human Go champion last year, which far exceeds the complexity of defeating a human chess champion. With this level of AI, it is not hard for them to sort through all your data with their deep learning algorithms and find patterns they can exploit.

The 2013 article, “What Surveillance Valley Knows About You,”² is an eye-opening read that may be well worth your time, describing just how grossly invasive this data collection and distribution is, and how dangerous it can be if you end up on certain lists.

Google’s data harvesting is particularly concerning in light of its military connections,³ and the fact the company has repeatedly been caught infringing on privacy rights and misrepresenting the type and amount of data it collects and shares on its users. Make no mistake about it: Capturing user data is Google’s primary business.⁴ The fact that it provides practical services while doing so only serves as a convenient distraction from the fact that privacy violations are taking place.

Google Dominates in More Ways Than One

Google’s internet monopoly, which centers around personal information tracking and sharing, is just the beginning. The technology giant is also involved in:

‘Don’t Be Evil’

In an ironic twist, Google has become the exact opposite of its initial catchphrase, “Don’t be evil.” When Google became Alphabet, it adopted a more comprehensive motto, which begins with doing “the right thing — follow the law, act honorably and treat each other with respect.”¹⁵ Yet, the company struggles mightily to live up to this new motto as well. Rarely does it seem to be able to distinguish right from wrong — at least as far as its users are concerned — and the company has repeatedly acted as if it’s above any law of the land.

Last year, Google was found guilty of violating European Union (EU) antitrust rules when it gave preference to its own shopping subsidiaries over competitors in its search results, and was fined $2.7 billion.

When the Open Markets team at New America — a think tank that has received more than $21 million from Google over the years — praised the EU’s decision and called on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice (DOJ) and state attorneys general to apply American monopoly law to Google’s business in the U.S., New America kicked the entire Open Markets team off the think tank.¹⁶

Zephyr Teachout, associate professor of law at Fordham University, writes in her Washington Post article, “Google Is Coming After Critics in Academia and Journalism. It’s Time to Stop Them:”’¹⁷

“The imperial overreach of Google in trying to shut down a group of five researchers proves the point that the initial release from Open Markets was trying to make: When companies get too much power, they become a threat to democratic free speech and to the liberty of citizens at large … Google is forming into a government of itself, and it seems incapable of even seeing its own overreach.”

Google is running such a clear monopoly, the fact that the U.S. has not nailed it on antitrust charges similar to those raised in the EU is a giant red flag that something’s just not right. As noted by Music Technology Policy¹⁸ last year, it appears Google has managed to circumvent U.S. law by installing one of its lawyers in the DOJ antitrust division. This is a classic example of why the revolving doors between government and industry cannot be taken lightly.

Why You Should Care About Monopolies Like Google

Unfortunately, many still fail to see the problem Google presents. Its services are useful and practical, making life easier in many ways, and more fun in others. That’s the bait, and many have swallowed it hook, line and sinker, not giving any thought to the ultimate price paid for such conveniences, or simply underestimating the threat that all of this personal data collection poses.

If you fall into this category, I ask you to give this issue some serious thought, because monopolies threaten our very way of life, and in more ways than one. As explained by business journalist and former director of Open Markets, Barry Lynn:¹⁹

“[M]onopolies are a threat to our democracy and to our basic liberties and to our communities. Monopolization, this concentration of wealth and power, is a threat to everything that is America … America today has a monopoly problem. We’re seeing basically a second wave of consolidation and monopolization because of the digital revolution …

The first issue is consumer protection and potential consumer harm. We created antitrust laws originally to protect our liberties, often as producers of stuff … My liberty to bring my wheat, my ideas, the product of my labor to market. That’s liberty.

The second purpose was to protect our democracy against huge concentrations of wealth and power. To protect our democratic institutions. And the third purpose [was] to protect your community. If I’m living out in Peoria, do I want the city of Peoria to be run by a couple corporations based on Wall Street, or do I want it to be run by the citizens of Peoria?”

How to Oust Google From Your Life

Alphabet, the rebranded parent company that houses Google and its various divisions, has turned into an octopus-like super entity with tentacles reaching into government, food production, health care, education, military applications and the creation of AIs that may run more or less independently.

A key component of many of these enterprises is data — your personal usage data; the tracking of every webpage you’ve ever visited and every single thought you’ve ever written on a Google-enabled device, along with geo tracking tracing your every move.

Ultimately, what can be done with that kind of information, besides personalized advertising? How might it be used in combination with military AI-equipped robots? How might it be used to influence your health care decisions? How might it be used to influence your lifestyle decisions? How might (or is) it used to shape politics and society at large?

Today, being a conscious consumer includes making wise, informed decisions about technology. Anyone who has spent even a small amount of time pondering the ramifications of Google’s ever-growing monopoly over our day-to-day lives is likely to shudder at the possibilities and agree that we cannot allow this to continue.   This year, vow to clamp down one of the greatest personal data leaks in your life by boycotting all things Google. Here’s a summary of action steps you can take right now, starting today. For more information, see Goopocalypse.com’s boycott Google page.