¹ Harvard professor Latanya Sweeney’s seminal study on Google search results for racially-associated names showed that when one searched Black-identifying names, the prevalence of ads related to criminal activity, such as background check services, was significantly higher than in searches of white-identifying names, regardless of whether or not named individuals had criminal records.

Sweeney, Latanya. “Discrimination in Online Ad Delivery,” Harvard University, January 2013.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2208240

An investigation by the Wall Street Journal showed some of the effects that Google’s algorithms have on search results, including favoring big businesses over smaller ones.

Kristen Grind, Sam Schechner, Robert McMillan, John West. “How Google Interferes With Its Search Algorithms and Changes Your Results,” Wall Street Journal, November 15, 2019. https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-google-interferes-with-its-search-algorithms-and-changes-your-results-11573823753