Search Engine Bias – MichaelZimmer.org

Google: “Did You Mean: ‘He Invented’?”

Posted by Michael Zimmeron May 9, 2007in Search Engines, Values In Design

Philipp Lenssen points out that when you search Google for "she invented," on the results page you are asked "Did you mean 'he invented'?" There has been lots of discussion on this seemingly misogynistic "correction" that Google provides, and those…

Google to Rank Results Based on Domain Name Information?

Posted by Michael Zimmeron May 9, 2006in Search Engines, Values In Design

Search Engine Watch speculates that Google might start using WHOIS information in their ranking of web pages. A recent patent application filed by Google, Information retrieval based on historical data, hints at the possible use of domain information in the…

Google Won’t Let AOL Game PageRank

Posted by Michael Zimmeron March 19, 2006in Search Engines, Values In Design

When the deal between Google and AOL was first announced, I (among others) complained that Google was introducing bias into their search engine results by teaching AOL how to “game” the system in order to optimize the placement of AOL…

Thoughts on “growing anti-Google sentiment and what is fueling it”

Posted by Michael Zimmeron February 20, 2006in Information Ethics, Internet, Search Engines, Values In Design3 Comments

I recently received a request from a journalism graduate student to comment on a story about "growing anti-Google sentiment and what is fueling it" and about "how Google's principles have changed, and how the public is reacting to this switch."…

Protect Your Regime with iRepress

Posted by Michael Zimmeron February 18, 2006in Information Ethics, Internet, Search Engines, Values In Design

Mark Fiore's latest cartoon satirizes the activities of US search engine companies contributing to the Great Firewall of China: "Protect Your Regime with iRepress - with Powerful Democracy Filtering!"

Google No Longer Claims Completely Organic Results

Posted by Michael Zimmeron February 16, 2006in Information Ethics, Internet, Search Engines, Values In Design

Last month, Google changed their censorship policy after launching their censored Google.cn service in China. Now it seems Google has changed its "core principles" regarding providing only organic search results. Previously Google’s Principles included this statement: The order and contents…

Google’s Action Makes A Mockery Of Its Values

Posted by Michael Zimmeron January 29, 2006in Information Ethics, Search Engines, Values In Design1 Comment

Bambi Francisco writes that Google's recent decision to officially censor search results in China violates its core values:It's profound what being a public company can do to the core values of a young firm. was less than two years ago…

Google Updates Censorship Policy

Posted by Michael Zimmeron January 29, 2006in Information Ethics, Search Engines, Values In Design

Google's official policy on censoring and otherwise altering search results has been updated since their decision to provide censored results for China. The policy can be found at the help page for the question "Does Google censor search results?" The…

Students for a Free Tibet Protest Outside Google

Posted by Michael Zimmeron January 26, 2006in Information Ethics, Search Engines, Values In Design4 Comments

Philipp Lenssen points to this report that a group of people from Students for a Free Tibet gathered in front of the Googleplex to protest against Google bowing to Chinese censorship requests. From SFT's press release:"Students and young people worldwide…

Google Now Officially Censoring In China

Posted by Michael Zimmeron January 25, 2006in Information Ethics, Search Engines, Values In Design8 Comments

Google has officially launched google.cn, a version of its search service designed to appease the Chinese government's desire to block searches related to Taiwanese or Tibetan independence, the Tiananmen massacre, Falun Gong, etc. CNN posted this statement from Google on…