Google is showing its support for the Black community. The web giant is incorporating a new badge in its business description listings, which will allow owners to identify themselves as a company managed or owned by black people, as revealed by The Verge on July 31st.
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As you can see below, the new ‘Black-owned’ badge, with a black heart in the middle of a red circle, will appear in Google and Google Maps business listings and joins other badges that Google has introduced in recent years to identify local businesses. Since 2018 the search engine has also shown whether a business is run by a woman, or whether it is an ‘LGBTQ+ friendly’ place.
As The Verge points out, this new development is part of the promises made by the firm last month, when Google assured that it would support the black community with ‘initiatives and product ideas that support long-term solutions.’ However, the company did not specify how it will verify that all businesses declared ‘Black-owned,’ and those who aspire to have the badge are in fact owned or managed by black people.
A double-edged sword?
In recent months, Google has seen ‘an increase in online searches for black-owned businesses,’ proving that many internet users are looking to spend money at these businesses, particularly to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement. On the web, however, the announcement regarding this new badge has left many internet users wary. Many are concerned about the possible negative impact of such an initiative.
