Trump’s top economic advisor is currently taking a look at regulating Google — the consequences of which could be far reaching.
President Donald Trump himself has often questioned whether Google search results are legitimate, or whether they could be gamed or biased. As a private enterprise, Google has some leeway regarding its search results. However, the past has shown that it can still be regulated by government, especially insofar as it can be seen as a utility.
The Potential Bias of Google
Google’s complex algorithms are designed to produce what a searcher is most likely looking for. That doesn’t necessarily indicate truth, but rather what a searcher believes is true or what validates their beliefs. If a user searches for “Washington D.C.” and arrives on Washington state, but spends more time on the page for Washington state, the search engine may start to believe Washington state is the appropriate answer.
Not only is this possible, but it’s the system working as intended. When public opinion is swayed, then Google is also swayed. Further, Google tracks individual users through the use of user accounts and cookies. Liberal users are more likely to see liberal results while conservative users are more likely to see conservative results — as these are the things that they are most likely interested in seeing. Ultimately, the perceived authority of Google can make this an issue.
Could Google Be “Rigged”?
Though the idea of Google being “rigged” has been attacked as paranoia, there’s an entire marketing discipline based around just that: search engine optimization. Search engine optimization, often shorthanded as ‘SEO,’ is a marketing strategy designed to game the system. It is intended to promote specific links to the top of search engine queries. Though this is often done for the purposes of marketing, it can also be done for political reasons.
Google itself has denied being biased, but Google itself doesn’t have to be biased to display biased results. Regardless of whether the current administration is correct — and whether Trump himself is a target — it’s disingenuous to claim that the results themselves cannot be gained. In fact, in the past Google has been accuse of loading its search engine with right-wing search queries.
It’s already known that Google can modify search engine results. In 2017, it was fined billions by the European Union when it was found to be promoting its own marketplace links on its search engine. Though this wasn’t manipulating the actual search engine queries, it was still manipulating the way that users interacted with their results.
Regulating Google
As we’ve seen with the European Union, it is more than possible to fine and regulate Google. However, to do so, Google has to be shown to breaking trust. If Google itself is biased and impacting results, then moves could be taken to regulate Google. However, there is another more significant and insidious thing that can happen: when cultural consciousness shifts and becomes biased in itself.
If something untrue becomes general knowledge, then Google — as a repository for general knowledge — will reflect this lack of truth. As a search engine for the Internet, it functionally has to; otherwise it has to become an arbiter of what is honest and truthful, which is beyond the purview of a search engine. At the same time, it must be made clear that search results on Google do not carry any inherent authority.
The first step towards regulating Google, then, is to prove that Google has knowingly biased search engine results in a way that could adversely effect the country, its economy, its political structure, and its citizenry. Assuming that this could be proven, then the United States could very well take action to regulate the way that Google presents its search engine results moving forward.
Google is one of the largest companies in the world, and it isn’t likely to be significantly adversely impacted by any fines and penalties. However, as a company that may have a monopoly on what is considered to be the truth, it may see increasing regulations and requirements moving forward. Companies may want to consider the ultimate consequences of these changes and how it might impact their SEO.
Regards,
Ethan Warrick
Editor
Wealth Authority
