"Google Being Sued..." that's right and not just today - every day. How come we don't hear about this. Good question.
Type the words "Google being sued' with the quote marks -
and see how many pages there are on the Internet(half a million)!
Google, the largest search engine and number on presence on the Internet in the world today, in it's latest "take-over" target is the famous Muslim site of Yusuf Estes called YOUTUBEISLAM.COM
The issue is about "CONTROL" says the owner "is what this may really be all about." And it looks like YOUTUBEISLAM.com is not the only one with problems with these guys... Wow!
And there is more.... (Read more)
We did a search (on Google - who else) and found the words "Google being sued" (in quotes) turned up 435,000 (nearly half a million) pages. That is a lot of discussion on laws suits with the Internet's largest and the second largest (Youtube.com is also owned by Google) benefactors.
Where does all of this leave us, the common folks? Good question.
We need some good answers.
What do you think this means for us?
Well, at least for one very sobering moment, we can conclude it is very dangerous when a "for profit" company can make or break the entire network for the whole world.
As much as this goes against my nature as a "free rights" advocate - I have to say,"I think it is time for some type of Internation Regulation for the contributors of the Internet"
You are thinking, "Yes, that's true but is it realistic to consider that it could happen?"
You and I and all of us, as a mxture of people have the obligation to ourselves, our families and our children's future to become involved and then work hard together to make sure these types of people do not dominate our media.
They could be working to the extent that any time they would like - they could simply cut off any part of the information network or distort it to be something other than what it was intended.
Eventually, some group is going to have to call for intervention - or else the true value of the Internet will be lost to all of us.
We have all learned a lot about the way the media treats important events. Very often not totally covering the story from a nuetral position - often going into details and repetiions that none of us want to hear any more and worse - sometimes not covering a story at all.
A very important lesson we have learned (the hard way) is all about letting someone take over and disallow the rights of some people in favor of others. When this happens, ultimately, all of the groups will eventually suffer as a result and in the end - no winners.
Have you ever played the children's game of TIC - TAC - TOE? The one with the Xs and Os?
You know how, in the beginning it is fun - but then after a few games - you always figure out the way to win!
Then after some real serious study you come to know it will always result in a stalemate. So, two reasonabily intelligent people - will not enjoy it any more because they will always come up with "The Cat Got it" (stalemate)
Well, considering the direction the World Wide Web is going right now - the "Stalemate" result would seem to be the best possilbe outcome - and there could be no end to the horror of any other possibilities...
In other words, there is not a bright picture on the horizon for the future of the Internet and the indicators are very much against anything good really coming out of it now. And if there ever was a benefit or a gain seen through the contributions and efforts of the designers and developers of this amazing system of communication - it will have gone the way of the Commodore Computer (or the Dodo bird) - in less than another decade if we do not do something about it right now - today!
You might ask, "But when we look at the media - isnt it the same? And we know the media has been around for years - and is still stifled?"
The answer to your question is, "Our current media is one of the reflections to consider in making the determination we are realizing in this very situation"
You see, my son, the key and operative word here is what?
Do you know what the operative word here is?
The key word?
The key word is - ACCOUNTABILITY
Do you see it?
Even the corrupt media of today can be, to some extent at least, held accountable for what they publish and how they treat their "version" of the news. Otherwise, they could loose advertisers, subscribers and fall out of favor with powerful people.
But when there is little, if any "accountability" what happens? Especially when you consider the very high stakes involved. Entire nations and countries can be consumed or redirected by the pressing of a few buttons.
Think about it - scarry - isn't it?
What can be done about it? Can this be stopped before it gets any worse?
Where is the limit for these guys?
Maybe we can "google" up an answer later....
-- Yusuf Estes is the chief editor for Share Islam.com and contributes articles for Islam Newsroom on a regular basis
