British Lawmaker Urges Regulation of Facebook and Google Algorithms

 Posted on December 23,2016 in Search Engine Optimization

Although you may not realize it, every time you conduct a Google search or open your Facebook news feed, you place yourself at the mercy of unseen, secretive weighting systems that “know” what results and items that you want to see. They are called algorithms, and those in the online marketing world spend countless hours analyzing them and responding to frequent updates. In recent months, however, many have begun questioning our trust in these systems, and some have even suggested that government regulation of Google and Facebook algorithms should be considered. Is such regulation a good idea? Could it even be possible?

Are the Secrets Necessary?

Google’s search engine algorithm is a series of rules intended to analyze hundreds of aspects of a website to determine where it should rank in specific web searches. When the algorithm is updated periodically, Google announces the major changes—such as an emphasis on mobile-friendliness or secured servers—but keeps the minor tweaks a secret. To a point, such discretion is understandable. If for-profit companies knew the exact weighting system of the algorithm, their sites would be designed to take advantage of the knowledge and, as the theory goes, the algorithm would no longer be effective.