Google Manipulates Search Results, According To Study From Yelp And Legal Star Tim Wu

[Guest]

Google knowingly manipulates search results according to a research paper published from several academics. The study presents evidence that the search giant sets out to hamper competitors and limit consumers’ options. The paper lands as Google prepares to release its response to the European Union investigation, which rests on similar claims about Google’s comparison-shopping product.The paper was authored by Tim Wu, the legal scholar and former FTC adviser, which is notable as he had previously penned a column in the New Republic saying that Google had successfully cleared a Federal Trade Commission investigation into search bias on its own merits, and not because of its lobbying prowess.

[smita89]

The main surprising and shocking realization is that Google is not presenting its best product. In fact, it’s presenting a version of the product that’s degraded and intentionally worse for consumers.

[Priyanka]

“When the facts change, your thinking should change,” Wu told Re/code about the evolution of his stance. “The main surprising and shocking realization is that Google is not presenting its best product.

[shilparana]

Yelp compensated Wu for the study, along with his co-author Michael Luca, a Harvard Business School economist. Other companies frequently do the same.