A recent article on the New York Times about the political costs that Google is facing due to its market dominance, and their strategy to reduce those costs, caught my interest:
Google has begun this public-relations offensive because it is in the midst of a treacherous rite of passage for powerful technology companies — regulators are intensely scrutinizing its every move, as they once did with AT&T, I.B.M., Intel and Microsoft. Some analysts say that government opposition, here or in Europe, could pose the biggest threat to Google’s continued success.
Google’s SEC filings make repeated mentions of the high level of competition the company faces in their business. Microsoft and Yahoo are specifically named as the two biggest competitors, and Google notes that Microsoft has more cash and employees, and both companies have longer relationships with advertisers.
I find it interesting that Google is taking the strategy of talking about the “formidable competition” they face as a risk to their business instead of (or in addition to) the risk posed by increased government regulation as a result of their perceived market dominance.
In the section where they talk about government regulation and the risk it poses to their business, they discuss issues like privacy laws, copyright infringement and even net neutrality. But I couldn’t find mention of the risk presented by regulation due to the perception of unfair competition.
Does your business face political risks like Google and other tech companies?