Search & Destroy: Why You Can't Trust Google Inc.

by Scott Cleland, Ira Brodsky

This is the other side of the Google story. In Search & Destroy , Google expert Scott Cleland, shows that the world's most powerful company is not who it pretends to be. Google pretends to be a harmless lamb, but chose a full-size model of a Tyrannosaurus Rex as its mascot. Beware the T-Rex in sheep's clothing. Google has acquired far more information, both public and private, and has invented more ways to use it, than anyone in history. Information is power, and in Google's case, it's the power to influence and control virtually everything the Internet touches. Google's power is largely unchecked, unaccountable and grossly underestimated. Google is the Internet's lone superpower, the new master of the digital information universe. And Google's power depends almost entirely on the blind trust it has gained through masterful duplicity. Google routinely says one thing and does another. Cleland proves the world's #1 brand untrustworthy. He exposes the unethical company hiding behind a Don't Be Evil slogan. He uncovers Google's hidden political agenda. And he reveals how Google's famed mission to organize the world's information is destructive and wrong. Cleland is the first to critically examine where Google is leading us, explain why we don t want to go there, and propose straightforward solutions. Google's unprecedented centralization of power over the world's information is corrupting both Google and the Internet, a natural result of unchecked power. Google is evolving from an information servant to master, from working for users, to making users work for the Internet behemoth. Search & Destroy conclusively demonstrates that Google's goal is to change the world by influencing and controlling information access. Ultimately, Google's immense unchecked power is destructive precisely because Google is so shockingly-political, unethical and untrustworthy.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Technology

329 pages, Hardcover

First published May 4, 2011

Reviews

[Michael K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book truly interested me, having a B.S. in IT. I found this book to be the great unveiling of Goliath to all us David's of the world; perhaps, in reality, we are but Lilliputians in Google's eye. We have come to rely so much on our computers, iPads, iPhones, etc. and Google is attached to just about everything, and what it cannot gain hold of it would appear that it takes in an underhanded fashion. Those of you who are into computer security truly should read this book. Despite the fact that it was written in 2011, which makes it antique in computer terms, it is truly worth the time to read it just for this information. Even the personal computer user (homeowners, school kids, etc) reading this book will give you the information necessary to allow you to make wise decisions as to whether or not you want to be on-line. I would suspect that Facebook is much the same in different aspects.

[Blog on Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

There have been many books about the internet behemoth that is Google, but none that so explicitly expose the actual and potential dangers of a single company being the world’s foremost organizer of the earth’s information – until now.

Scott Cleland is considered one of the leading critics of Google and has testified before Congress on numerous occasions on companies like Google, Enron, WorldCom and others. He is also the former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Information and Communication Policy and currently runs the website GoogleMonitor.com. In other words, he is well qualified to write on this subject.

In “Search & Destroy: Why You Can’t Trust Google Inc.” Cleland (with Ira Brodsky) reveal a litany of Google abuses, lawsuits and questionable business behaviors that belie the company’s famous motto, “Don’t Be Evil.” Google, Cleland asserts, is more than just a benevolent information organizer, but rather a company that has built its business on the back of effectively destroying copyright protections, creating a double standard of transparency, acting surreptitiously, and actively pursuing a policy of ‘innovation without permission.’

Cleland cites numerous examples where this practice has already been implemented – You Tube and Google Books outsized copyright infringments, AdWords auto-billing, even using Google Earth vehicles to secretly collect individual Wi-Fi addresses while photographing every street on earth – as well as exposing the potential for future breaches of trust when it comes to location based search, health records and much more. “Search & Destroy” (with it’s nod to the Iggy Pop song of the same name) positions itself in some ways as the non-fiction sequel to George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” where all animals (internet users) are equal, though some are more equal than others. It’s tempting to see Cleland’s book as alarmist in nature (“Google didn’t introduce a free browser (Chrome) to sell anything. It did it to better spy on users,” Cleland asserts), but given all the back-up, much of it corroborated by court documents, press outcries and other well-known incidences, it’s hard to dispute much of what he points out.

At the end of the day, Google is relying on a kind of self-policing mechanism that keeps them in line so as to maintain customer loyalty – aka: blind trust. (Numerous public quotes from former CEO Eric Schmidt attest to this being Google’s only real line of defense) But can customers feel their information is safe with a company that repeatedly engages in using this information for as yet hidden agendas. If you have any doubts about that last statement, you need to read this book.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scott Cleland has bravely done what few have the nerve to do: publicly expose the secrets of a tyrant. Google Inc is a multi-billion dollar company extending their tentacles into every possible corner of commerce and the Internet as possible, and effectively taking over. The general public as a whole does not realize the hold this seemingly innocent Internet-based company has over their personal information and the sneaky ways they gather and archive such private details of our daily lives- including, but not limited to, the websites we visit in the comfort of our own homes, the links and ads we are drawn to while Web surfing, and even our medical and health records. Aside from victimizing the general public, Cleland exposes the questionable tactics and politics they utilize to trap and take advantage of companies that purchase advertisement from Google Inc. In three parts, the author runs through the laundry list of crimes against humanity this company gets away with on a daily basis, all in the name of profit and in the effort to monopolize all of the world's information.

The first part of this book explains why Google Inc is not to be trusted. They preach transparency and open information in every area of life, government, and business, and yet remain close-lipped about their own practices. Information such as employment statistics, information-gathering techniques, and even the locations of their servers remains unreachable for anyone outside the company (and even most employed by the company). They also fail to expose the information they steal through their search engine, applications, email service, and Street View vehicles, most of which is taken just through use of sponsored websites. Google was caught accessing personal residential wireless networks through their Street View application mapping, later reluctantly giving up the data (including user names, passwords, and personal files) for review and later stating that though the information was supposedly acquired accidently, the company would not destroy the information unless required by law. Doesn't quite sound like the innocent, trustworthy company they like to pretend to be.

Part two enlightens the reader about why Google Inc is destructive. They pick and choose which sites get displayed in their search results based solely on their own biases and loyalties, causing some to lose business due to becoming buried underneath numerous other, similar businesses. Also, advertisement price hikes on unsuspecting companies hurts business and can force companies to close or downsize to make up for their loss of revenue. Political websites are also selectively displayed, generating more support for the candidates Google supports and hurting the political careers of the rest (over 90% of Google employees are Democrats). Another potentially damaging habit of Google's is their reputation for posting or using copyrighted or patented material without permission and bracing for any backlash that may occur once the rightful owner discovers the theft of their protected material. Google Inc's deliberate, unapologetic approach to helping themselves to another's intellectual property makes the book/video/program/etc available for everyone to use with no reimbursement or credit to the rightful owner. Once discovered, the material has been available long enough to compromise the owner's exclusive rights to it and therefore loses potential revenue to bootleg copies. With no remorse, Google takes their time removing the material, but the damage is already done and irreversible.

Lastly, the author takes you into the future and gives a dim view of what the world could come to if Google gets it's way and is allowed to continue on the path they're on. Tyrants, owning all information the world can produce, a select few elite within the company deciding what information is available to the public and what they feel does not promote their best interest. All of your private information openly available to anyone with Internet access- finances, health records, contact information. Google is a fierce supported of "open" information systems.

I found this book to be very eye-opening and am grateful this information is now available to the general public. Google would like to remain seen as an innovative, trustworthy company that offers no threat to mankind, operating with the best of intentions and striving to better the world. After reading this book, readers can decide Google's level of trustworthiness for themselves. Though the author is quite repetitive with some information, his resources are reputable and from a wide selection of mediums. As Financial Times magazine said about Google Inc: "The world has every reason to applaud Google, but few reasons to trust it." I give Search & Destroy four of five stars and strongly recommend everyone read it and become educated on the issues with this company and hopefully increase their own online security.

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This XKCD fairly neatly summarizes one of the points I'm taking away from this book. Much of the author's criticism is because Google hasn't been held to the same standards as, say, Microsoft. My opinion is, like Walmart, they started with good intentions but have got very, very sidetracked.

Google has been allowed, repeatedly, to get away with things, to knowingly ignore or push past legal boundaries, leaving a path that other companies might follow, and then when called on it say "Oops, we'll fix that" (meaning "eventually"). By that time the damage is done, and the issue is thoroughly confused. In short, Google's a bully.

Anyone who's interested in Google's practices, or why everything they do is free, or how they've changed since inception, should take a look at this. I will admit it's tough reading, mainly because every point is backed up with a situation or even a quote directly from Google, but it was certainly enlightening, even for someone like me who has followed the news and privacy issues fairly carefully.

My only criticism is that sometimes he holds Google to a very high standard, and one which is unfairly applied. (By that I mean a standard that no-one can maintain, or where Google is one of many who don't make it.) The rebuttal to that, though, is usually that Google were the first ones to break the standard and the others simply followed in their trail. Read it and make up your own mind.

[David Geller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back when Google was just getting started, it simply provided the best search engine that was available at the time. Unlike many of the other search engines, Google was able to find pages that were highly relevant to the search terms, and we all stared with amazement at Google’s ability to suggest the “right” search term, even if we misspelled the ones we typed in.

Fast forward several years ahead.

Nearly all other search engines have fallen by the wayside, and Google is one of the last ones standing. But it is no longer just a search engine company. Now, with billions of dollars in corporate shareholder investment, it is a conglomerate of businesses, from photo and file storage, to cloud-based office applications, to an advertising network, to shopping sites, to a news aggregator, and the list expands each day. And, just as importantly, Google’s core business has become the acquisition and monetization of personal data. My data. Your data…

And, make no mistake, gone are the days of Google’s famous corporate mantra of “Don’t be evil.”

Search & Destroy: Why You Can't Trust Google Inc., by Scott Cleland and Ira Brodsky, tells the biggest news story of the decade, about the dangers of Google’s policies. Some of it is surprising, and some of it is shocking, but at all times, this book will hold your interest.

[Daniel Koleshchuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing read. I loved how detailed and clear this book is. Would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to learn a thing or two about Google.

[Lee Herman · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a polemic. Styling himself as "the world's leading Google critic" in his dust jacket bio, Scott Cleland certainly has an ax to grind. Sadly, his points about Google's bad side get lost in vitriol, absurd jumps in reasoning in lieu of logic and misinterpretation of many of his sources make the book almost unreadable. It took me multiple tries to get through the book because it is so badly written. It is repetitive enough that the author could have covered the material in half the space or less. There is an attempt at organization in the chapter titles, but the contents of the chapters frequently has nothing to do with the titled subject.

Truly a disappointment of a book and for Mr. Cleland, a missed opportunity to raise some valid concerns over privacy and other societal issues and Google's unique profile as an Internet company. Written in 2011, there is some foresight about the directions the web is taking, but those issues are far from unique to Google. And although there is a wealth of material, key sources like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (https://eff.org) and others with similar privacy concerns are never mentioned.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enlightening (and scary) book. I've always thought there was something spooky about Google but could not put my finger on what it was. I will never, ever, trust Google now that I have seen what their mission is (out of their own mouth). The title of this book may sound like conspiracy theory tripe, but the book is too well documented to be theory.

There was some repetition (points made more than once with the same evidence) but the way the book is broken into Parts, I see why he did it: No matter which part you read, the point is made and documented. The whole back of the book (about 72 pages) is Bibliography and End note references.

It is Orwell's 1984 coming to pass, except that it's not the government... oh wait, Google has been talking to the government... If you have even a little interest in Google's information gathering goals and practices, read this book.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book more; I think the author had some interesting and relevent points to make on the role of Google in the future of technological development. Unfortunately, Search & Destroy came across as more of a collection of polemical essays rather than a coherent work; it's repetitive and doesn't expand on various topics to the degree I'd like. I think it would have been better served by an entire section devoted to the philosophical background of Brin, Page, and others at Google,for starters, rather than banging the same discordant drum over and over.

[Erica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really poorly written. Every single section follows the exact same structure. And it's super repetitive. Did I mention it's repetitive? It's really repetitive.
But there are a number of important points made here, and made clearly.
I have to admit that by the end I was laughing out loud at some of the conclusions, though. Not to say they are wrong or right, but because of the bad writing.

[Gideon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I agree with about 70% of what Cleland says here, but it's so poorly written that it becomes distracting. This reads more like a first draft than a finished manuscript.