Google's behavior called "fundamentally dishonest" by Democratic Congressman

National Journal's Tech Daily had an interesting article today reminding us that there is yet another dimension to Google's untrustworthy business behavior.

• "Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., wrote a letter Friday, demanding an explanation as to why Google had replaced recent photography with images depicting the region before it was devastated by the hurricane.
• Miller spokeswoman Luann Canipe said: "The congressman's concern is that it was fundamentally dishonest. Certainly the most basic question is, 'Did someone ask you to change the maps and if so, who was it?'" "

What is important here is this is just part of a well documented history and pattern of Google not doing the right thing and making a mockery of their double-negative corporate motto: "Don't be evil."

Let's review the growing pattern of Google's shady and untrustworthy behavior:

• First, the "air-brushing of history" where Google will change the Google Earth images and not tell anyone. Google's not-so-subtle message here is that its users will see the world as Google wants them to see it -- not as it really is. 
• Google obviously does not have any internal controls for Google Earth, it seems it's operated more like a sloppy internal wiki where Googlers can edit images of the world as they please and people have to complain in order to get a correct view of the world. In other words, reality is what Google says it is.
• This raises an interesting question. 
• Does Google have the necessary internal controls to prevent rogue Googlers from tweaking its "secret discrimination algorithm" behind its search capability?
• Otherwise, how do we know what comes up at the top of the search -- really are the top searches and actually the right version of the information?
• Second, remember Google is the company that complicit in helping the Chinese government censor what information shows up in China.  
• If Google is willingly and massively complicit in the systematic censoring of the free flow of information to over a billion Chinese, the largest country population in the world, how can we trust if Google is not routinely censoring other information or search results for other political purposes? 
• As a Democrat-corporation, (98% of Google employees gave to Democrats in the last cycle according to the Center for Responsive Politics) how can we trust they are not skewing search and information to influence elections as I have raised in my blog many times before?
•   Third, Google systematically steals others' property and then offers them bribes to keep quiet and drop charges.  
• Is it likely that Google is the honest and trustworthy company? Or is it likely that the dozens of companies that have sued Google in Federal court are the ones that can be trusted? --: newspapers, publishers, authors, broadcasters, movie studios, trademark owners...?
• Why would all these separate companies and distinct industries put themselves at legal risk if they could not prove their allegations?  

There is a powerful and growing body of evidence that Google does not do "the right thing," obey the law or have honest business practices -- in short that Google is not trustworthy.

• The term for replacing Google Earth photos without disclosing it, could be called "fraud and misrepresentation".
• It wouldn't be the first time Google has been accused of fraud, Investors Business Daily reported that Click Forensics' analysis says that 14% of clicks are fraudulent. 
• That implies that Google may be systematically overcharging its real customers, advertisers, to the tune of $1.5 billion a year based on 2006 revenues!
• That would be around 42% of all of Google's 2006 profits.
• Quite a "profitable" little caper their business model has become.    

Bottom line: The credible and diverse evidence is mounting that Google simply can't be trusted.