A few years ago I did an evaluation of google seo to assist with a project. I distinctly remember my conclusion being that due to the proprietary and closed sou

A few years ago I did an evaluation of google seo to assist with a project. I distinctly remember my conclusion being that due to the proprietary and closed source nature of the algorithms google is using, I predicted they would be tempted to artificially manipulate them to produce profit through siphoning the ad revenue, and that I suspected it was already happening to the blackhat seo technique sites. They weren't taking measures to stop blackhat seo, they were taking measures to profit off them. All conjecture on my part, but perhaps it's relevant to this story? If the algorithms are the dark secret sauce of your power that no-one talks about, why not abuse them for profit? Publicly you have plausible deniability, because no one can see inside your box but you. If there is enough of a PR issue you can artifically adjust to match the needed PR stance, but still keep the rest of the manipulation system in place. Especially given googles close ties to the gov, and certain political groups, I question if we really want such a power to exist over the future of the internet.