Search Neutrality

With the ongoing battle between search giant Google and the Senate Antitrust Committee, it is relevant to understand what exactly is the objective of a truly neutral search engine, ie search neutrality. Here are the most important points.

Equality: Search engines shouldn’t differentiate at all among websites.

Objectivity: There are correct search results and incorrect ones, so search engines should return only the correct ones.

Bias: Search engines should not distort the information landscape.

Traffic: Websites that depend on a flow of visitors shouldn’t be cut off by search engines.

Relevance: Search engines should maximize users’ satisfaction with search results.

Self-interest: Search engines shouldn’t trade on their own account.

Transparency: Search engines should disclose the algorithms they use to rank web pages.

Manipulation: Search engines should rank sites only according to general rules, rather than promoting and demoting sites on an individual basis.