ITV chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette warns that an internet governed by Google is ‘a danger to society’
Sir Peter Bazalgette said Google had an 'extraordinary monopoly' on advertising
AN internet dominated by the likes of Google is a “clear and present danger” to society, the chairman of ITV has warned.
Sir Peter Bazalgette, credited with making reality show Big Brother a hit in the UK, said we are now being “governed” by foreign companies.
The 64-year-old TV executive said Google had an “extraordinary monopoly” on advertising, and pointed out in many countries it does not pay tax at the same level as other companies.
He said: “The online world with all its benefits now represents a clear and present danger to civil society. We are being influenced and in some cases you could say even governed by people who are not in this country.”
He said many of them had started out as engineers, who “don’t necessarily think about the ethics of society”.
He told the Voice Of The Listener And Viewer conference in London:
“The overall challenge of the internet giants, of whom there are now four or five, that is a very serious economic, cultural and democratic issue and we haven’t begun to tackle it.”
Sir Peter also pointed out that there are many restrictions on TV advertising yet virtually none for online ads.