With Google’s search engine being owned by Google themselves, doesn’t it make sense that they can do with it as they please and arrange the search results accordingly? Well not too long ago a site called CoastNews argued that Google had unfairly pushed their website far down in the search results despite them ranking high up on other search engines such as Bing and Yahoo.
Well it looks like Google finally has their victory as a San Francisco court has recently ruled in favor of Google, essentially granting them the right to arrange their search results as it pleases. Back then CoastNews argued that Google felt that they were a competitor, which is why they wanted to push their website down the search rankings.
Google then responded with an “anti-SLAPP” motion which is basically where defendants can guard themselves against litigation that would prevent them from enjoying the rights of free speech. That tactic worked as the judge back then granted the request, claiming that CoastNews’ claims against Google was related to “constitutionally protected activity”.
So why is this important? Well CoastNews was not alone in feeling that Google was abusing their power. Other websites such as Yelp and Travelocity have complained in the past that as Google could use their power to promote their own restaurant/travel reviews and ratings, versus competitor websites, but what do you guys think? Is this win a good thing? Or do you think that search results should be neutral?