Mark Cuban has recently posted the entire “insider” opinion of the YouTube acquisition by Google. Its been summarized in by a few learned individuals here and there. The salient points seem that:

1. Google held back a significant sum in escrow as a war chest against future copyright suits

2. The investments by large music and media companies into YouTube prior to the Google purchase was just that — an investment, so that music companies don’t have to pay licensing fees to artists

and lastly:

3. Google and music companies have a backroom “understanding” that music companies would start pursuing legal action against YouTube competitors, buying time for YouTube to takedown offending videos, putting pressure on other companies to follow suit; moreover, it would slow VC capital to competitors.

Wait – colluding with music companies to sue competitors?

Helping music companies lock out artists out of a cut that’s likely theirs?

… well, some other learned indivduals feel that the story is probably a combination of truth and heresay, and that Google/ UMB lawyers are “too smart” to be involved in such shennigans, and there are probably very good reasons for what’s happened (suing YouTube’s competitors).

Of course, I think its important to treat these sorts of allegations with a heaping tow-truck of salt — but I would urge everyone to remember in this age of Enron and Edel-mart trickery the kind of arrogance which does seem to pervade corporate backroom dealings.

While Google has always maintained a “Do no Evil” strategy, I do begin to wonder if its less a rallying cry on behalf of netizens everywhere, and more the thought that they’re above their competitors … that while everyone else has done “Evil”, that they’re above it. 

And I mean, who knows if that’s the case.  But, it wouldn’t be the first time a huge company did something questionable to further itself, benefit its stock holders, or did ethically questionable things to deep six their competition.