The news of a Google-Yahoo merger was floated some time ago but recent news that the Justice Department has hired special counsel to review the details of the case should not be surprising; in fact, it is more than welcome. The common view of our generation seems to be that Google is an enlightened despot, free to conduct themselves as they see fit due to the ease they have fostered in our daily lives. In a sense, their ubiquity has forced us to grant the company free reign to monitor, and target, our habits. But no matter how well they treat employees, or their corporate idealism, Google is still a company and their bottom line is what matters most. This is as it should be but regulators cannot lose sight of it. I don't know whether a Google-Yahoo deal would imperil competition but any such unprecedented corporate adventurism in new media such as the internet should trigger caution and excitement at the same time. The Justice Department is doing the right thing by excruciatingly checking the facts of the case. The internet will never be completely dominated by a company. There is always something new and room for experimentation - that is its inherent beauty. But the internet is still a media domain and we must realize the extent to which complete advertising control can stifle the expansion, not creation, of new entities. Google may have been the best thing to happen in a lot of years, but that doesn't mean something better isn't around the corner. Let's not shut the door too soon.
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