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Google Exec Argues Against Search Neutrality 
By: Doug Caverly 2010-07-16 Compared to many other issues related to Internet regulation, not a lot is said about search neutrality, and implementation seems rather far-fetched. Google isn't taking any chances, though, with Marissa Mayer, Vice President of Search Products and User Experience, writing a special article to argue against it.
Mayer's article appeared in the Financial Times, and for the sake of not making people deal with a paywall, was republished on the Google Public Policy Blog. Anyway, to educate those who might be unfamiliar with the concept, she defined search neutrality as "introducing a new set of rules in which governments would regulate search results to ensure they are fair or neutral." As for why search neutrality would be bad, Mayer's list of reasons was lengthy. The practicality of deciding what's fair would be one major issue. Then she pointed out, "Abuse would be a further problem. If search engines were forced to disclose their algorithms and not just the signals they use, or, worse, if they had to use a standardised algorithm, spammers would certainly use that knowledge to game the system, making the results suspect." But Mayer continued, "-T-he strongest arguments against rules for 'neutral search' is that they would make the ranking of results on each search engine similar, creating a strong disincentive for each company to find new, innovative ways to seek out the best answers on an increasingly complex web." Those look like some pretty convincing points. Of course, the idea of a search monopoly (which search neutrality is supposed to make impossible) will still worry some people, and Google certainly has more reason to fight search neutrality than the other search companies. It's hard to imagine many satisfactory responses to Mayer's article, though, which is very good news for Google. About the Author: Doug is a staff writer for SearchNewz, WebProNews, InternetFinancialNews, and SecurityProNews. |
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