DOJ’s proposed Google changes would ‘deeply undermine user trust,’ search chief says

is a senior policy reporter at The Verge, covering the intersection of Silicon Valley and Capitol Hill. She spent 5 years covering tech policy at CNBC, writing about antitrust, privacy, and content moderation reform. The government’s proposal to make Google share its search data with competitors would “deeply undermine user trust” by putting queries in the hands of potentially less secure rivals, the company’s search chief Elizabeth Reid testified Tuesday. The Justice Department has proposed forcing Google to syndicate its ranking signals and other search data to competitors, something it says will level the playing field and end Google’s search monopoly. But Reid argued that exporting that data would shake users’ faith that their searches would stay private, and its value would create an incentive for hackers to go after small competitors. “Once it’s turned over to a qualified competitor, there’s no further protections we can give,” she said. “A startup is generally not a target bec ... Read full article.