techpolicydaily.com

Is Google finally running out of goodwill with federal regulators and others?

First, the search giant ran afoul of the Department of Justice in its proposed settlement with the Authors Guild over its book scanning plans.

Now comes word that the FCC is investigating AT&T complaint’s that Google Voice may be improperly blocking calls in some rural areas. The Washington Post has it here.

On a company blog, Google’s Washington lawyer Richard Whitt posted a response, in which he basically says Google is blocking some callers from its free network application because they’re abusing it – using it for sex chat lines and free conference call centers and taking up bandwith that could be used by more needy users, like soldiers or homeless people.

But some say Google’s play-by-its-own-rules and “trust us” philosophy may be running out of steam. It’s one thing for two guys with a funny-sounding start-up to operate that way, of course; it’s entirely different when you’re the biggest and most powerful company in the digital world.

Here’s how John M. Simpson of Consumer Watchdog put it after the advocacy group announced its recent support of the Justice Department in the book scanning case:

“A single entity cannot be allowed to build a digital library based on a monopolistic advantage when its answer to serious questions from responsible critics boils down to: “Trust us. Our motto is ‘Don’t be evil.’”