Google Books: Game and Set to the Sceptics; the Match Continues

There is no doubt that the grand idea of scanning millions of books and making them available to the world’s readers is spectacular. There is no doubt that public good can flow from it. However, the current settlement conferred a too immense private good, and annoyed too many ordinary people who had eloquent voices. Since the copying is far advanced, it seems unlikely that the project will be abandoned, so a more cautious, better balanced regime seems the most likely outcome. Again, there may be a broader message for Google’s aspirations as to other activities-searches, maps, private addresses, and privacy generally. The message may be “Prune the exuberant aspirations and go more cautiously.”