As Google launches products, regulatory woes linger

Is Google in jeopardy of turning into the next Microsoft?

It hardly seemed the case this week, as the California company unveiled a raft of new products, including a tablet computer and even futuristic glasses. But Google is still under serious regulatory scrutiny in several countries around the world, echoing the troubles that plagued Microsoft even as Google was in its very earliest days. When Google emerged, Apple seemed troubled, Yahoo was still an online juggernaut, and Microsoft was facing a level of regulatory and consumer outcry the industry hadn't yet seen. That scrutiny was ultimately damaging to Microsoft. The company and its executives were forced into court to argue against claims that the software giant was a monopoly and should be broken up. Google, meanwhile, was surging. Prior to its 2004 IPO, the company famously explained in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing its view on good and evil. "Don't be evil," Page and Brin wrote in what has since been called the "Don't Be Evil" Manifesto. "We believe strongly that in the long-term, we will be better served -- as shareholders and in all other ways -- by a company that does good things for the world even if we forgo some short-term gains." The comment was a thinly veiled shot over Microsoft's bow. Google and its co-founders made it clear that they were the good guys, and the big corporations with boatloads of cash weren't. But now, the slogan is being thrown back in Google's face. Across Europe, the U.S., and even India, the company is facing intense regulatory pressure over its practices, and charges that it is limiting competition in the marketplace.