India Asks an Existential Question about Google
November 2, 2020
I noted an article on the India TV News called “Isn’t Google Violating Users’ Fundamental Rights by Controlling Choices? Parliamentary Panel Asks.” The write up states:
A parliamentary panel on Thursday [October 29, 2020] questioned the “neutrality” of Google when it is engaged in both advertising and content, and asked was it not violating the fundamental rights of users by “controlling” their choices. Top executives of the search engine appeared before the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Personal Data Protection Bill and responded to queries related to data security.
The article continued:
During the meeting, MPs cutting across party lines asked how can Google be a “neutral platform” when it is engaged in both advertising and content, and how is it possible that it does not give “preferential treatment” to some advertisers in search results, sources said. Some members also posed questions about whether data being processed and stored in the country of origin or somewhere outside, sources said. Noting that Google has a wider presence and available on different forms on the web, some members said it “has the power to affect the choices of its users” and that needs to be checked.
The story did not speculate about the answer to this question. I am not sure if students of Søren Kierkegaard will be enlisted to assist in determining the answer about fundamental rights, the violation thereof, and related issues.
Stephen E Arnold, November 3, 2020
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