Mass surveillance & privacy erosion
Google’s ad business is built on tracking users across the web. The company has faced repeated fines and lawsuits over location tracking, cookies, and gathering data from children on YouTube.
This is not Google.
You clicked “I’m Feeling Lucky.” Instead of routing you into a trillion-dollar tracking machine, here is a reminder that the real Google is one of the most powerful corporations on Earth — and it has a long, well-documented rap sheet.
Take me backSelected documented issues
Each entry links to primary sources and reputable reporting, not rants.
Antitrust & search monopoly
Courts and regulators in the EU and US have found Google abused its dominance in search, Android, and advertising to crush competitors and lock in defaults.
Project Maven & military contracts
Google partnered with the Pentagon on Project Maven to develop AI for drone video analysis. Thousands of employees protested, and Google eventually said it would not renew the contract.
Worker retaliation & union-busting
Google has fired organizers, paid out settlements over surveillance of workers, and hired anti-union consultants while resisting labour organizing at home and abroad.
Tax avoidance
For years Google routed profits through Bermuda, Ireland and the Netherlands to pay far less tax than its headline revenue would suggest. It has settled multi-billion-euro disputes in Europe.
Deplatforming & platform power
YouTube’s recommendation algorithms have been criticised for radicalisation, misinformation, and arbitrary enforcement. Google controls the gateway to much of the web and shapes who can be heard.