The Open Markets Institute read Google the riot act Monday (Nov. 18), citing a Wall Street Journal article with the self-explanatory title: "How Google Interferes With Its Search Algorithms and Changes Your Results." 

OMI said the story, which alleges that the company "uses blacklists, algorithm tweaks and an army of contractors to shape what you see," confirmed what it has suspected, that Google manipulates search "to serve its own private interests and those of big advertisers and other giant corporations." 

Currently, both the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission are looking into whether Web giants have been using their massive market power anti-competitively. 

Related: Sen. Blumenthal Says FCC Should Investigate Google 

OMI executive director Barry Lynn appears to have no doubts. 

"[T]he Journal's reporters provided hard proof of how Google manipulates and exploits the public and yet another example of why we must break the corporation's advertising-based business model, he said. "Google's abuse of its market power is also bad for American business as the corporation routinely and mechanically steers commerce away from independent entrepreneurs to giant monopolists such as Amazon and Facebook. That Google maintains a secret blacklist to remove sites from search, beyond those required by law, is blatant censorship and a threat to free speech. It's way past time for our federal and state governments to fix Google." 

He is not alone. Big Tech has been getting a going-over on the Hill in recent weeks and months over alleged search bias, and targetted online advertising and data privacy and alleged content censorship, and much more. 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), currently in a competitive race for the Democratic presidential nomination, has called for breaking up Big Tech. 

"We have been very public and transparent around the topics covered in this article, such as our Search rater guidelines, our policies for special features in Search like Autocomplete and valid legal removals, our work to combat misinformation through Project Owl, and the fact that the changes we make to Search are aimed at benefiting users, not commercial relationships," Google said in a statement regarding the Journal story. "This article contains a number of old, incomplete anecdotes, many of which not only predated our current processes and policies but also give a very inaccurate impression of how we approach building and improving Search. We take a responsible and principled approach to making changes, including a rigorous evaluation process before launching any change -- something we started implementing more than a decade ago. Listening to feedback from the public is a critical part of making Search better, and we continue to welcome the feedback."

Add the Open Markets Institute (OMI) to the list of those who say that a likely multi-billion settlement with Facebook over privacy practices isn't enough.

Facebook signaled Wednesday (April 24) in its first-quarter financial statement that it was going to have to factor in an up-to-$5 billion payout related to the Federal Trade Investigation into whether Facebook had violated a 2011 consent decree related to its data privacy protection or, more to the point, lack of it.

Related: Sen. Wyden Says Facebook Should Be Liable for Privacy Violations

At the upper end, the fine would constitute a third of the almost $15 billion in revenue for the quarter.

But OMI Executive Director Barry Lynn sees the likely fine as "grossly insuffient" for what he says was Facebook's "outrageous" behavior.

"Facebook for years demonstrated complete disregard for its original agreement with the FTC," he said in a statement. "By failing to stand up for its own authority, the FTC appears, in turn, to be demonstrating complete disregard for the fundamental interests of the American people," said Lynn. "Rule of law requires that enforcers of the law enforce the law. Congress should act immediately to ensure that all five members of the Commission fully understand their jobs, and the responsibilities entrusted to them by the American people. Democracy depends on breaking Facebook's stranglehold over the flow of news and information and ensuring the corporation fully respects and protects the privacy of the millions of citizens who use the platform. It’s time for all five of the FTC’s commissioners to do what the American people hired them to do.”

It was a year ago last month that the FTC confirmed it was investigating Facebook over its privacy and data security practices, saying it has "substantial concerns." Those have likely only increased with subsequent revelations, including congressional concerns about its research project that incentivized teens and others to give up info (Project Atlas) and news that the company was sharing data with big tech and is planning to integrate WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger.

The FTC investigation followed the revelation that Cambridge Analytica had used Facebook user data without their knowledge to build profiles it then sold to political campaigns, including the Trump campaign. Analytica reportedly used the information with most users having not given their permission for Facebook to share it with a third party.

Facebook is under an FTC consent decree dating from its 2011 settlement of FTC allegations it deceived consumers by not keeping its privacy promises. The FTC is authorized to enforce such pledges under its Sec. 5 (unfair and deceptive practices) authority. The commission was investigating whether Facebook had violated that agreement

That consent decree required Facebook to obtain a users' permission before sharing data, so that Cambridge Analytica data dump appeared to be a violation of the agreement.