Google is a major web search engine that was incorporated in 1998 and has expanded to offer many additional services beyond search like Gmail, Google Maps, and Google+. It aims to provide open access to information for all and takes steps to expand access through tools like translation services and accessibility features for impaired users. However, it also faces issues around censorship demands, copyright disputes, and ensuring it does not become too dominant in online information access and services.

1. Google Case Study By: Stacia Nambiar

2. Google is a web based search engine which is used worldwide providing users the ability to search and obtain information by simply typing keywords into the search engine. The search engine not only provides its service to search but it has an index of around 60 million pages. Some of its features include: G-mail, Google Maps, Google Print and many more including social networking tools. Furthermore, the company not only offers these features but they are also responsible for partnerships and products. The company was officially incorporated in 1998 and so it has been around for a good 12 years and it seems to be heading up for a big future with many more years to come. Google’s ethos is based on the saying ‘Don’t be evil’ as the founders stated ‘We believe that we will be better served as shareholders and in all other ways by company that does good things for the world.’ G o o g l e

3. Free Speech “ We do not allow articles and sources expressly promoting hate speech viewpoints in Google News, although referencing hate speech for commentary and analysis is acceptable". Although Google itself isn't a social networking site where people contribute via users adding to the website or making changes they do own blogger which allows people free speech. They are able to create their own individual blogs which permits them to write what they like without it being restricted. To this extent it can be argued that Google is egalitarian. It enables free speech worldwide. However, recently there has been issues which China which has forced it to limit free speech on the web, as Google's websites of human rights activists have come under cyber threat.

4. Institutions Google extends its huge presence on the Web to the desktop like Google Chrome and mobile phones such as Google Android which allows it to dominate almost every application category on not only the Web, but also the desktop aswell as mobile phones.Therefore, Google’s domination of such applications and search markets, makes it difficult for smaller companies to compete against Google

5. Power Elites Google is not part of an oligarchy but has its own monopoly. As it is a prominent site it very easily takes up a huge part of the internet and peoples use of the net by being a search as well as having its existing services. Rather than it having many power elites controlling them it can be argued that Google acts very much as a power elite itself owning some of the widely used social networking sites such as facebook and twitter.

6. As Google is worldwide and there is limited restriction as to what is on the site peoples views updates news simple everything that can possibly be found on the net is on Google. The site is therefore appealing to people worldwide. Simply those who are interested not only in the 21 st century as it is easily accessible it allows everyone to use it easily and quickly. Furthermore, Google recently announced plans to develop Google Wave, a product that helps users communicate and collaborate on the web.This is where users can almost instantly communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and much more. Google allows users to share and collaborate by acting as a search engine. It enables people to visit the site and search for what they like whenever they like. We Think & We think Pro Ams

7. 12% of Google news is original open source. Google handles both internal open source compliance and external outreach programs, including source release, open source infrastructure. Furthermore, Google will be taking a step towards license-free web video playback when it open sources the leading video code from a company it acquired for $124.6 million. Open Source

8. Copyright is the set of limited rights which are approved by the creator of an original work, which take into account the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. One of the more controversial search services Google is Google Books. The company began scanning books and uploading limited previews, and full books into their new book search engine. However, a number of copyright disputes arose, and Google reached a revised settlement in 2009 to limit its scans to books from the U.S. "Google is pushing at the boundaries of what these laws mean". Stated from Susan Freedman, a copyright expert. Furthermore, visual artists have previously sued Google over copyright. Read the article relating Google’s copyright issues. Copyright

9. Creative Commons Google Advanced Search enables creative commons customized Searching. Creative Commons provides copyright licenses for authors and artists. Google now enables filtering for Creative Commons-licensed content. Creative Commons own the “Find” page which enables people the option to use either Google for your searching. Google Image Search now has the option to restrict the results to images that are licensed using Creative Commons. There is a list of flexible licenses that allow content creators to share their works with the world.Google Guide is licensed under a Creative Commons License to give you more rights than copyright allows. “ People are free to copy, distribute, display, perform the work and make derivative works.” Under the following conditions: Attribution. People must give Nancy Blachman credit and link to or reference the original version, or Google Guide's home page: www.googleguide.com Non commercial- People cannot use this work for commercial purposes.

10. Digital Divide Google's search is in more than 110 languages, offering people the ability to restrict results to content written in their own language, “our mission is to facilitate access to information for the entire world, and every language“ Through Google, people can discover content written on the other side of the world, in languages they don't speak using translation tools. With these tools and the help of volunteer translators Google offers “quality around the world.” Therefore, they seek to provide their services to as many users as possible. Furthermore Google has always had a good user for visually impaired users. "Blind and partially sighted people reported to RNIB from the start that Google was their favourite search engine."

11. Recently it has been declared that unless Google was allowed to offer an uncensored search engine in China, it would shut down its existing censored search engine and would consider pulling out of China entirely. Consequently, Google also provides Google news allowing people who visit the site to sign up and receive updates about current events and news. Free Press

12. Gate Keeping Gate keeping is the process by which billions of messages that are available in the world get cut down and transformed into the hundreds of messages that reach a given person on a given day. Speaking from Google: it’s hard to gather data in ways that don’t raise privacy concerns or in ways that might help repressive governments to block controversial content.’ The most powerful of these Internet gatekeepers is Google, with the control of 63 percent of the world’s Internet searches, as well as owning YouTube, Google has a majour influence over who can find an audience on the Web around the world. Read the article regarding Gate Keeping An example of gate keeping is the dictatorial policy of “site blocking” that Google is forcing on site owners. However, Google is in the form of their site blocking enforcing it without any legal authority.

13. Marxist Theory Marxists emphasise the ideology regarding hegemony and how the ruling class appear superior to others. Through this theory they make sense of the big media and how its used to maintain this system of meritocracy. The users of Google represent an ideology that allows anyone to freely say what they want and use the site freely to an extent, as millions of posts are updated within seconds onto Google. As Google acts as a search engine it allows for a free flow of ideas rather than it enforcing any sort of bias. The Marxist theory would suggest that as Google is as huge and dominating over the net as it is, that this could lead to hegemony. So far, it appears to be rather neutral and not in favour of just the big media. As it is worldwide and does not restrict people from using it and stating their opinions it is simply widely and freely used.

14. Google remains strongly committed to the principle of net neutrality, and will continue to work with policymakers in the years ahead to keep the Internet free and open” Google is a leader of the net neutrality charge. It is very unlikely that Google will ever be shut down that fact that it is a leading company one that many people use worldwide means that it is too big and too powerful to be controlled by any existing power elites. Net Neutrality Net neutrality supporters have to some extent been drawn into what is a fight between two groups of major corporate interests content owners and carriers.Therefore, Google does reply on net neutrality to be successful. As Google is freely used and allows anyone to use it it doesn’t exactly control the net in any way yet it does play a vital role in the way in which people actually use the internet.