Google Requires Oversight but Not a U.S. Antitrust Probe: View

When Google Inc. went public in 2004, its founders declared that the search-engine leader wasn’t a conventional company and didn’t intend to become one. This maverick attitude has defined Google ever since, especially in its hot-and-cold relations with the world’s governments.

Regulators constantly find some aspect of Google’s business that demands attention. There are bogus advertisers to be shut down and offensive YouTube videos to be challenged. Authors fret about copyright issues involved in digitizing old books. Privacy-minded citizens worry about unwanted visibility from Google Maps and Google Earth. The controversies are endless. To date, regulators have acted as if Google is moving in the right direction but needs to be more careful about how it proceeds.