Germany may soon begin regulating tech giants like utilities

Has Google reached the point where it needs to be regulated like a utility? At least one German governmental agency is considering that possibility. The Federal Cartel Office in that country has drawn up a 30-page document laying out alternatives if the tech giant is assessed as being too dominant in its market, according to a story yesterday in The Times of London. One of the possible alternatives reportedly mentioned in the document, notably in the area of search engine advertising, would be to treat the tech giant as the German government might treat an energy or water provider, as a regulated monopoly.