If the FTC and European regulators are not yet ready to deal with the ultimate source of Google's economic power, its control of user data, then it may be just as well that any likely settlements in coming months will be limited.

Since Google gains its heft and irreplaceability with advertisers through its control of user data, anything that increases user power to withhold that data inevitably will also reduce that monopoly power, as well.

LOS ANGELES -- Google is overhauling the way it treats user data, linking information across its array of email, video and social-networking services ...

Between January and June 2011 Google received 15,640 requests for user information from countries around the globe. The search giant makes this inform...

So how much does Google know about you and your online habits? It's only when you sit down and actually start listing all of the various Google servic...