Google's 'contentious' day on Capitol Hill: 5 takeaways

In testimony before a Senate panel, CEO Eric Scmidt maintains that his company does no evil. Competitors beg to differ

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt
(Image credit: REUTERS/Larry Downing)

On Wednesday, Google boss Eric Schmidt faced off against the tech giant's rivals in a three-hour hearing before the Senate antitrust panel. "Is it possible," asked Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), "for Google to be both an unbiased search engine and at the same time own a vast portfolio of Web-based products and services?" Yes indeed, Schmidt said, arguing that Google also helps fuel economic growth and job creation. But Google competitors Yelp and Nextag, who also testified, say the search engine is increasingly favoring its own offerings in search results. What can we learn from Google's "contentious" day on Capitol Hill? Here, five takeaways:

1. Google's goals have changed

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