Twitter accuses Google of rigging search results
Twitter has launched a scathing attack on Google, accusing the firm of “warping” its search results by placing undue prominence on Google+ posts within its standard search results.
The micro blogging site was moved to formally complain after the tech firm began rolling out changes to its algorithm in America, which gives priority to Google+ information when people search whilst logged into a Google+ account.
Twitter contends that this is a blatant attempt by the search firm to draw traffic to its nascent social platform.
In a statement a Twitter spokesperson said: “"For years, people have relied on Google to deliver the most relevant results any time they wanted to find something on the internet.
"As we've seen time and time again, news breaks first on Twitter, as a result, Twitter accounts and tweets are often the most relevant results. We're concerned that as a result of Google's changes, finding this information will be much harder for everyone. We think that's bad for people, publishers, news organisations and Twitter users."
At present Twitter and Facebook content do not generally feature on Google as neither firm provides full access to their information.
Google insists that it will soon introduce a toggle for users to switch off personalisation from their results.