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People don't want Google (or any other popular service) to be able to [silently] direct the public.
Like the article says: If google drops you from their results you're in serious trouble (if your business depends on random visits)
I don't see it as a public utility though, as there are more search engines out there.
The danger lies in silent manipulation of the site's visitors, that's one thing people should look out for. (Google does to a certain degree 'decide' where webtraffic is headed.)
But if Google dropped from the 'Net (let's hope not, they're doing a decent job) people would quickly switch, no society threatening catastrophies there...
So a possible manipulation tool? yeah... possibility of abuse by google's staff? yeah... But the same goes for Microsoft, newspapers and television.
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"Do not kill. Do not rape. Do not steal. These are principles which every man of every faith can embrace. "
- Murphy MacManus (Boondock Saints)
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