Part of the problem is that AT&T is a partially public company in that it receives huge benefits from the government. Also google is an entirely opt-in option where as AT&T is usually the user's only choice.
I know these are in some ways unfair comparisons but sadly in the world we live in the telecommunication industry is dominated by several players due to past laws. As such they need/have to play by different rules.
Between this and AT&T's motion to deny Sprint+Clearwire on the grounds of spectrum allocation ( http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pd... ) it seems like AT&T is the kid that whines to his parents "BUT JOHNNY DID IT FIRST!" when he's guilty of something.
I know these are in some ways unfair comparisons but sadly in the world we live in the telecommunication industry is dominated by several players due to past laws. As such they need/have to play by different rules.