Read on Twitter
It would seem that Google continues to be terrified of the effort and implications of sorting disinformation from authentic information.
Which is a problem for a company which wants to “organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” https://twitter.com/BBCNews/status/1330081583882235907
Which is a problem for a company which wants to “organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” https://twitter.com/BBCNews/status/1330081583882235907
I find this story fascinating because it’s a perfect (sad) example of what happens when a blanket policy is dropped over the messy human landscape.
It’s simultaneously possible for Google’s response to be truthful (ie the vast majority of reviews are authentic and helpful) and for the situation here to exist. Google serves as the platform for a vast amount of stuff. A tiny minority of a vast amount can be non-negligible.
AND, of course, for a small amount of mis- or dis-information to do a huge amount of damage locally or even globally.
It’s always been a dirty secret of many large scale digital outfits that their business model top-slices without accepting downside. Essentially their margin looks great because it’s cut out of the profit of an existing eco-system.
In crude business terms that’s terribly clever. In terms of what it does to existing industries it’s disastrous. The claim is always that those industries will profit by being forced to innovate, but that isn’t necessarily what happens.
*Tangent, very interesting: https://twitter.com/tanepiper/status/1330085583251759112
But the key point for me this morning is that I’m reminded that Google et al seemingly do not like to be told to tidy their room. Like fossil fuel companies, they like to say that kind of thing is beyond their scope.
They take refuge in a frankly naive Silicon Valley iteration of free speech to protect themselves from having to address defamation, privacy, even disinformation and lies which could start a war or wreck a democratic election.
“We’re just a platform, we don’t like to make judgements.”
Well, congratulations. The price of dominance is governance. Pay your way or pass the conch.
/ends
Well, congratulations. The price of dominance is governance. Pay your way or pass the conch.
/ends
