The FTC should take a broader look at transparency

[Commentary] The Federal Trade Commission has been investigating Google for a year now, looking in part at whether Google is operating “fairly” in its search results. But if the FTC is really serious about protecting consumers, the agency may be better off taking a broader industry-wide look at search engine transparency and labeling practices.

I head a small law firm in Washington (DC), where I advise technology companies, including Google, on public policy issues. As an advocate for open Internet rules, I’ve spent many years working on network neutrality issues, and I also took part in the SOPA and PIPA debates, as one of the opponents of unfocused copyright laws. While advising Google on the FTC’s antitrust investigation, I have noticed an odd pattern: the companies complaining about Google’s actions all commit the same exact actions they complain about. If Google’s actions harm consumers, then so do its competitors. The competitors complain about some things that are not even a problem (such as using snippets of text in a search result) and other things that would be a problem if Google or any other company engaged in them (including deceiving users by mislabeling ads and search results). The FTC owes it to Web users and search engines to provide updated guidance on what form and amount of transparency is adequate for search engines.