2018-09-12

Hold the confetti: Google turns 20

① Today the search giant celebrates its birthday, but no one in Washington, DC is planning to join in.

② The firm has lately been attacked by President Donald Trump, who accuses it of favouring liberal media outlets over conservative ones in search results.

③ Tomorrow Congress is holding a hearing about how the online platforms handle hate speech, bias and fake news.

④ Although Facebook and Twitter quickly agreed to send senior executives to testify, Google only offered its general counsel, prompting complaints from congressmen that it was not taking them seriously.

⑤ Meanwhile last week a Republican senator, Orrin Hatch, called on America's consumer watchdog, the Federal Trade Commission, to reopen an investigation into Google's treatment of its rivals.

⑥ In the past 20 years Google has gone from a tiny startup to an advertising behemoth: today its parent company, Alphabet, is the world's third most valuable company.

⑦ But giant size brings giant headaches.