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Search is a public utility, just like the Internet itself.

by gress 12y ago

mbreese 12y ago
How could search be considered a public utility? You can use any search engine you'd like. If you don't like Google, switch to Bing or something else. That's not the case with things like water or electricity (usually). Internet service as a utility? Maybe (in the US at least with limited options). But search? Don't blame Google because they are really good at what they do. They aren't stopping you from using another service, nor are they stopping others from creating their own search engine.
- baq 12y ago
  for vast majority of people, what's the difference between 'the internet' and 'google homepage'? you can theoretically use something else than google, true, but if you bundle all search engines together and disable every single one of them, the internet for a great majority of the population that has access to it becomes completely useless.
  - mbreese 12y ago
    For the vast majority of people Goolge doesn't control their web browser. For some, yes, but it's only a default for Android or Chromebooks. Browsers can and do change their defaults whenever they'd like: see Firefox this past week. That's an issue for the browsers, not the search engine. I'm not aware of any browser (sans Chrome) where the default homepage is Google.com.
duaneb 12y ago
That's nonsense. There's not even a consensus on how to search, let alone enough to define a public service based around it. You can bet a government run search service would be absolutely terrible at this point in time.
- Someone 12y ago
  "Public utility" does not imply "government run", just that the government considers a product or service so essential that it pays some/lots of extra attention to companies providing it through regulation. [This is not a strict distinction. For example, one could argue that 'search' became a public utility when the EU introduced the "right to be forgotten"]
  - Tobani 12y ago
    The "Right to be forgotten" thing is murky too. If I lost to you in a competition and I"m deeply offended/embarrassed by this, is it within my right to remove your victories from the internet? Why have the people indexing the information remove it instead of the people hosting it? What if you mention the event again in an interview years after said removal? Are you in breach of some covenant for mentioning something-which-shall-not-be-remembered or is it the fault of the search engine for not maintaining some infinite list of embarrassments of humanity? Would said list of embarrassments be a breach of said right even though it would be the only way to enforce it?
  - mbreese 12y ago
    Swap "run" with "regulated" and you'd have the same problem. A heavily regulated search engine would be a subpar experience. In some regard, it is already regulated in terms of what speech they can show. But that's not "search engine specific" regulation. Any specific regulations regarding search on the Internet has a high probability to degrade the utility of the service. The "right to be forgotten" might just be a good example of this. Time will tell.

Search is a public utility, just like the Internet itself.

by gress 12y ago

Search is a public utility, just like the Internet itself.

How could search be considered a public utility? You can use any search engine you'd like. If you don't like Google, switch to Bing or something else. That's not the case with things like water or electricity (usually). Internet service as a utility? Maybe (in the US at least with limited options). But search? Don't blame Google because they are really good at what they do. They aren't stopping you from using another service, nor are they stopping others from creating their own search engine.

baq 12y ago
for vast majority of people, what's the difference between 'the internet' and 'google homepage'? you can theoretically use something else than google, true, but if you bundle all search engines together and disable every single one of them, the internet for a great majority of the population that has access to it becomes completely useless.
- mbreese 12y ago
  For the vast majority of people Goolge doesn't control their web browser. For some, yes, but it's only a default for Android or Chromebooks. Browsers can and do change their defaults whenever they'd like: see Firefox this past week. That's an issue for the browsers, not the search engine. I'm not aware of any browser (sans Chrome) where the default homepage is Google.com.

duaneb 12y ago

That's nonsense. There's not even a consensus on how to search, let alone enough to define a public service based around it. You can bet a government run search service would be absolutely terrible at this point in time.

Someone 12y ago
"Public utility" does not imply "government run", just that the government considers a product or service so essential that it pays some/lots of extra attention to companies providing it through regulation. [This is not a strict distinction. For example, one could argue that 'search' became a public utility when the EU introduced the "right to be forgotten"]
- Tobani 12y ago
  The "Right to be forgotten" thing is murky too. If I lost to you in a competition and I"m deeply offended/embarrassed by this, is it within my right to remove your victories from the internet? Why have the people indexing the information remove it instead of the people hosting it? What if you mention the event again in an interview years after said removal? Are you in breach of some covenant for mentioning something-which-shall-not-be-remembered or is it the fault of the search engine for not maintaining some infinite list of embarrassments of humanity? Would said list of embarrassments be a breach of said right even though it would be the only way to enforce it?
- mbreese 12y ago
  Swap "run" with "regulated" and you'd have the same problem. A heavily regulated search engine would be a subpar experience. In some regard, it is already regulated in terms of what speech they can show. But that's not "search engine specific" regulation. Any specific regulations regarding search on the Internet has a high probability to degrade the utility of the service. The "right to be forgotten" might just be a good example of this. Time will tell.