UPDATED 17:23 EDT / FEBRUARY 16 2011

Google vs Texas: Lawsuit Magnet or Web Magnate?

While success is an understatement for Google, the search giant has also managed to steal a few scenes before the federal and international courts. Today, it is the state of Texas trying to peek under Google’s hood and uncover secrets of the bases of its business paradigm: its search algorithm (which has been a subject of queries in EU as well), advertising strategies and pricing.

Google spokesperson Adam Kovacevich has reiterated the organization’s principle and how faithful they are to every bit of the word, saying, “Since we started Google we have worked hard to do the right thing by our users and our industry, and while there’s always going to be room for improvement, we’re committed to competing fair and square. We’re continuing to work with the Texas attorney general’s office to answer their questions and understand any concerns.”

Texas authorities have demanded the following documents from Google: policies and procedures for calculation AdWords prices and minimum bids to minutes and agendas from search quality team meetings and files regarding  “black listing” or “white listing” of various sites on the web. The company has been trying to reach out to the state, laying down details on its ITA Software Acquisition and held several meetings to explain the system behind site ranks when a user launch a search. Amir Efrati of The Wall Street Journal posted the outcome of the probe and the aforementioned demands are included in the writing.

But, despite the fact that Google’s search business is under fire, Bing & Yahoo, its prime competitors, are most likely to align with the top player’s trademark rules for search advertisements. Pamela Parker of Search Engine Land noted that the influence of Google is far-reaching amidst controversies. It seems like the growing charges against the company have only made its strategy more interesting that even rivals would want to follow.

Google continues to fight the myriad of cases filed against them. Some are already settled, like the FTC case surfaced from an accidental snooping into open Wi-Fi networks- an article that was fully covered by Maria Deustcher of SiliconAngle. Still in progress is Google’s plea to dismiss a claim on leaked names that was initiated by a San Francisco resident named Paloma Gaos.

In a world where the phrase “Google it” has already displaced the term “search,” it is no surprise that people, other companies and even authorities would go after such an icon. After all, it may all be worth the publicity and money (from settlements) going after a business that has mastered the art of searches, cloud computing and advertising technology.


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