[bestbits] Re: need for regulation ....

[Guru गुरु]

In an earlier mail (below), I had discussed the need for the Google 
search engine (as the de facto organiser of the worlds information for 
most of us, hence the gatekeeper) to be functioning on a public 
accountability (and hence transparency) mode.  This will include public 
participation in the algorithm design, social/public/community audit of 
the algorithm to ensure there is no distortions being inserted in the 
algorithms to feed political/economic vested interests etc....

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/22838-facebook-and-the-future-of-global-governance 
discusses similar ideas regarding Facebook, which is fulfilling a 
critical social function, and hence, cannot be dictated purely by 
private profit considerations alone.... While article also makes some 
suggestions on ways forward, it is perhaps more important to first 
acknowledge that these are important points for global public policy 
making relating to IG.... and then discuss possibilities from a public 
interest advancement perspective.

regards
Guru

On 03/10/2014 03:56 PM, Guru गुरु wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> Not clear, how in Multistakeholderism, where the private sector has an 
> equal footing in public policy making, we will get Google to agree 
> that its search algorithm, as the key factor organising the worlds 
> information/knowledge for all of us, needs to be public knowledge, not 
> a commercial secret. The need for it to be public knowledge stems from 
> privacy/surveillance concerns, because such fundamental knowledge 
> ought to be available as 'cultural commons' that others can 
> take/re-use/revise, fostering competition etc.
>
> regards,
> Guru
>
> Google faces Rs 30,500-cr fine in India
> New Delhi, PTI: March 9, 2014
>
>  Google can face a penalty of up to about $5 billion if it is found to 
> have violated competition norms of the country.  Google, which is 
> facing anti-trust investigation in India by fair trade watchdog 
> Competition Commission of India (CCI), can face a penalty of up to 
> about $5 billion (Rs 30,500 crore) if it is found to have violated 
> competition norms of the country.
>
> Google said it is “extending full cooperation” to the CCI in its 
> investigation. The conclusion of a two-year review by the US antitrust 
> watchdog has concluded that the company's services were good for 
> competition, it added. The case has been before the CCI for over two 
> years now, and it relates to allegations that Google is abusing its 
> dominant position. Under competition regulations, an entity found 
> violating the norms could be slapped with penalty of up to 10 per cent 
> of its three-year annual average turnover. In the case of Google, its 
> annual revenues in the last three years amounts to a staggering $49.3 
> billion (Rs 3.01 lakh crore), and the maximum penalty can be up to 
> nearly $5 billion.
>
> When asked about the ongoing probe and the potential penalty, a Google 
> spokesperson said: “We are extending full co-operation to the 
> Competition Commission of India in their investigation.”  The emailed 
> statement added: “We're pleased that the conclusion of the Federal 
> Trade Commission's two-year review was that Google's services are good 
> for users and good for competition.”
>
> A complaint filed with the CCI cannot be withdrawn. The complaint 
> against Google, also one of the world's most valued company, was first 
> filed by advocacy group CUTS International way back in late 2011. 
> Later. Matrimonial website matrimony.com Private Ltd also filed a 
> complaint. Last year, CCI chairman Ashok Chawla had said the complaint 
> was that the Google search engine favours platforms it wants to support.
>
> “That is, when you click on Google under a certain category, you will 
> get the platforms where there is a tendency to put them in a certain 
> order which may not be the fair and non-discriminatory. So, *what is 
> the software and what is the algorithmic search, (that is) what the 
> investigation team is looking at,” *Chawla had said.
>
> source - 
> http://www.deccanherald.com/content/390977/google-faces-rs-30500-cr.html

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