I understand that with so much market share Google has a bigger responsibility to practice good ethics. Which it seems to be doing. No? I'm sure if Google were to actually begin going astray, people would notice websites disappearing. Until clear evidence of this is found, it is unfair to scrutinize them to reveal their competative advantage. In fact doing so suggests malice more than anything. Sure Google may have the power to 'remove' content from the internet, but since when is that justification for accusations of malicious intent? If France was truly benevolent and actually concerned with improving Google equality, threatening a lawsuit is an odd way to address the problem. A good course of action would be to raise the issue with Google in a trustworthy way. Yes, in general, given enough power corruption emerges, but I'm not sure it applies in this case. Power could be wielded without corruption. Large market share does not imply corruption. Perhaps what is ought to be done by Google is to somehow address the issue of transparency without compromising their algorithm. I may be wrong but I feel confident that Google isn't corrupt. However, the people behind this legislation certainly appear to be up to something.
Who knows? I don't really support the requirement that they make their algorithm public. But I would support requiring that they expose it to government auditors. Or maybe some kind of 3rd party testing that proves their results aren't biased without actually seeing the algorithm.
> Power could be wielded without corruption.
Yes that is possible. But I think a government is certainly within their rights to demand that with a certain level of power a company must prove that they are wielding that power responsibly.
For instance if I build a nuclear power plant, the government will of course require me to prove that it is safe. They won't wait until they have evidence that it is unsafe because the potential harm is too great.
