ALGORITHMS OF OPPRESSION

Run a Google search for “black girls”—what will

you nd? “Big Booty” and other sexually explicit terms are likely to come up as top search terms. But, if you type in “white girls,” the results are radically different. The suggested porn sites

and un-moderated discussions about “why black women are so sassy” or “why black

women are so angry” presents a disturbing portrait of black womanhood in modern society.

In Algorithms of Oppression, Sa ya Umoja Noble challenges the idea that search engines like Google offer an equal playing eld for all forms of ideas, identities, and activities. Data discrimination is a real social problem; Noble argues that the combination

of private interests in promoting certain sites, along with the monopoly status of a relatively small number of Internet search engines, leads to a biased set

of search algorithms that privilege whiteness and discriminate against people of color, speci cally women of color.

Through an analysis of textual and media searches as well as extensive research on paid online advertising, Noble exposes a culture of racism and sexism in the way discoverability is created online. As search engines and their related companies grow in importance—operating as a source for email, a major vehicle for primary and secondary school learning, and beyond—understanding and reversing these disquieting trends and discriminatory practices is of utmost importance.