Legislation Would Force Google and Rivals to Disclose Search Algorithms--Update
October 31 2019 - 4:51PM
Dow Jones News
By John D. McKinnon
WASHINGTON -- Senate lawmakers proposed bipartisan legislation
Thursday that would require search engines to disclose the
algorithms they use in ranking internet searches and give consumers
an option for unfiltered searches.
Search engines such as Alphabet Inc.'s Google unit use a variety
of measures to filter results for individual searches, such as the
user's browsing activity, search history and geographical
location.
Critics have increasingly complained that algorithms allow
online search and social media to censor content and manipulate
users. The big internet firms generally have denied censoring and
contend that using profile information gives users better tailored
experiences.
The proposed Filter Bubble Transparency Act would require big
online search engines and platforms to disclose that they are using
algorithms to sort the information that users are requesting or are
being encouraged to view.
The bill would also require the online search engines or
platforms to offer a relatively unfiltered version of the same
information if users ask for it.
The bill was filed by Sen. John Thune (R., S.D.) and is being
co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
"People are increasingly impatient with the lack of
transparency," Mr. Thune said in an interview. He added that the
legislation would give consumers more choice, while avoiding
heavy-handed and legally dicey regulation of algorithms.
"It's a way of giving consumers more control, consistent with
the light touch approach I believe in," he said.
Google, the largest search company, didn't immediately respond
to requests for comment. Social-media giant Facebook Inc. also
didn't respond to a request for comment.
The legislation is potentially significant as a way to address
growing public concern about algorithms and their impact on public
discourse as well as individual users' behavior and emotions.
Mr. Thune said he is concerned about the potential for search
algorithms to be used to prey on users' emotions, seeking to stir
anger and prolonging their use of a service, for example.
This plain-vanilla alternative wouldn't consider user-specific
profile data -- such as the user's geographic location and search
and browsing history -- in formulating search results unless the
user expressly provides such data to the platform for purposes of
the search, according to a draft of the bill. It also couldn't make
"inferences about the user or the user's connected device."
The legislation wouldn't apply to platforms with fewer than 500
employees or $50 million in revenue, or those that collect or
process the personal data of fewer than one million people.
The bill represents the most serious legislative effort to date
to put limits on the use of online algorithms, which are complex
programs that detail the specific filters that a computer should
use to carry out and rank results from a search.
The bill could become an element of a broader Senate privacy
bill that lawmakers are hoping to weave together in coming weeks,
said Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.), a co-sponsor. Lawmakers are
aiming to hold a hearing in mid-November to try to hammer out
agreements on what will go in a Senate privacy package.
Sen. Mark Warner (D., Va.) said consumers have "limited
understanding of how their data is being used and how platforms
operate. This bill helps reduce the power of opaque algorithms on
our discourse and put greater control in the hands of
consumers."
The bill would place the Federal Trade Commission in charge of
enforcement.
Write to John D. McKinnon at john.mckinnon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 31, 2019 16:36 ET (20:36 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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