New Study Accuses Google of Anti-competitive Search Behavior

An anonymous reader writes: Columbia Law School professor Tim Wu — the man who coined the term "network neutrality" — has published a new study suggesting that Google's new method of putting answers to simple search queries at the top of the results page is anticompetitive and harmful to consumers. For subjective search queries — e.g. "What's the best [profession] in [city]?" — Google frequently figures out a best-guess answer to display first, favoring its own results to do so. The study did some A/B testing with a group of 2,690 internet users and found they were 45% more likely to click on merit-based results than on Google's listings. Wu writes, "Search engines are widely understood as key mediators of the web's speech environment, given that they have a powerful impact on who gets heard, what speech is neglected, and what information generally is reached. ... The more that Google directs users to its own content and its own properties, the more that speakers who write reviews, blogs and other materials become invisible to their desired audiences."

Comments

Re:Are they supposed to bump bad results?

[thedonger]

AHHHH! Please, government! Protect us from Big Search!

Re:No shit ...

[thedonger]

All I have to say is use another search engine if you don't like it. No one is forcing you to use Google.

Googe is a Basic Human Right. The US was founded on the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness -- do really expect people can pursue happiness with Bing?

Re:GOOGLE is FREE to do WHAT THEY WANT

[faway]

Hitler was FREE to do what HE WANTED, too. Simply put, nobody forces users to choose to fascist leaders. There are plenty of government, some good, some France. Germany's extermination algorithms have made this world a better place. I'm glad they don't have to appease anyone to keep offering that superior extermination! What is your point? Maybe you're the inferior one?

Re:What Wu does not write:

[Jason Levine]

That goes counter the fact that people in general hate change. No I think the majority would continue to use Google. It is very hard to change societies momentum.

Which is why everyone announces on MySpace about the new Geocities page they just set up.