Secretive foe attacks Google over government influence

Google has come under attack by a mysterious group that keeps mum about its sponsors while issuing scathing reports about the company’s influence on government. Among its recent revelations: High-ranking Google execs have had more than 20 "intimate" meetings with President Barack Obama, and the company has a revolving-door employment relationship with the federal government.

While the backers of the "Google Transparency Project" may be hidden, its purpose is clear, observers say: To offer purportedly objective research and commentary that can be used to thwart Google's burgeoning power in Washington (DC) and elsewhere, much as similar "think tanks" have sought to undermine the environmental lobby or promote development projects. When you're successful, you're on top of the hill. You become a target," said Michael Cusumano, a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management who studies the technology industry.