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The Digital Services Act sets out broad new legal requirements to make recommender systems more transparent and accountable, including for their role in systemic risks. To fulfill that promise, implementation must go beyond basic disclosures and defaults; it must shape how these systems are designed and assessed over time.

When the U.S. Department of Justice originally brought – and then won – its case against Google, arguing that the tech behemoth monopolized the search engine market, the focus was on, well … search. Back then, in 2020, the government’s antitrust complaint against Google had few mentions of artificial intelligence or AI chatbots. But nearly five years later, as the remedy phase of the trial enters its second week of testimony, the focus has shifted to AI, underscoring just how quickly this emerging technology has expanded.

A federal court ruling found that Google violated antitrust laws in two online advertising markets. California Attorney General Rob Bonta might have a winning strategy against Big Tech after Google’s big antitrust loss in court. This case was brought against the search giant in 2023 longside the U.S. Justice Department and 16 other state attorneys general, and is a notable win for Bonta’s office after a string of recent court losses to tech industry groups suing California on First Amendment grounds.

In March 2025, KGI welcomed Julie Anne Miranda-Brobeck as Communications Director. Julie Anne leads on KGI’s communications strategy, branding, and media relations.

As lawsuits mount and legislation aimed at mitigating social media harms proliferates, the battle over how algorithmic recommender systems should be designed is heating up. A new report “Better Feeds: Algorithms That Put People First” proposes guidelines to help mitigate algorithmic harms, which, if adopted, could meaningfully improve the online experiences of youth and adult users alike.

Lack of competition in social media has allowed dominant platforms to design algorithms to maximize for user engagement without concern for user experience, which may produce feelings of negativity and partisanship among users. There exist alternative algorithmic designs that optimize for both engagement and user experience, and regulation may be necessary to promote these different approaches.

KGI released a major new report providing detailed guidance for policymakers and technology companies on improving the design of the algorithmic recommendation systems that shape billions of users’ online experiences. The report, Better Feeds: Algorithms That Put People First, was authored by a distinguished group of researchers, technologists, and policy leaders.

It’s clear that one of the most significant tech stories of the year was the outcome of the Google search antitrust case. It will also make headlines next year and beyond as the remedies phase gets worked out in the courts. For this podcast episode, Tech Policy Press turned the host duties over to someone who has looked closely at this issue: Alissa Cooper, the Executive Director of the Knight-Georgetown Institute (KGI).

For too long, Google’s monopoly power has constrained how people find, access, and interact with information online. The remedies phase of this historic antitrust case presents a rare opportunity to ignite competition in search and search text advertising. With a comprehensive package of remedies, online search could enter a new era.

The decision in US v. Google is remarkable for how it uses insights from behavioral economics to analyze the effects of Google’s exclusive default agreements on competition.

In this podcast episode, Tech Policy Press crashed a KGI-hosted funeral… for CrowdTangle, a piece of software that allowed journalists and independent researchers to get insights into social media.

In August 2024 KGI welcomed Peter Chapman as Associate Director. Peter works across KGI’s areas of focus and supports KGI as a growing organization.