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France: Google must reveal search algorithm says French Senate

By  |  April 19, 2015

French senators have amended a bill that would require Google to advertise three competitors on its home page, but stops short of explicitly requiring the search engine to disclose its algorithms.

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    The amendment, added Thursday to an economic growth, activity and equality bill, calls for any search engine likely to have a structural effect on the online economy to provide users with a way to consult at least three competing search engines from its homepage, and to ensure that it does not favor its own services over those of competitors.

    The wording clearly targets Google, without naming it, and comes on the heels of the European Commission’s charge that Google favors its comparison shopping service over those of competing search engines.

    The bill going through the French senate now also requires economically powerful search engines to provide information about how they classify or index websites, and forbids them from requiring software developers or device manufacturers to exclusively use their services.

     

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