The assumptions of fairness assigned to search engines and their algorithmic work have come about because we believe computers act as the ultimate neutral arbiter of rules. Programmers and administrators have long known computers give back what has been given to them, no more and no less.

Nemertes Research president and chief research officer Johna Till Johnson thinks Google gets a lot more benefit of the doubt than it deserves. Her NetworkWorld article on Google and net neutrality suggested that Google has parlayed this way of thinking about computers into a mindset where only Google can truly judge neutrality:

On Planet Google, what “openness” really means is “other companies should share their resources so Google can gain a competitive edge.” And “neutrality” means “telcos can’t be trusted to charge fair market rates for the use of their infrastructure, and we need the feds to force them to.”

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