The problem here is that government doesn't understand technology well enough.
Which makes sense, the majority of people don't. Your post is an example, no disrespect meant.
You can't have transparency in search. It's an arms race between search engines and black hat SEO gaming. It's been that way for decades, likely always will be. That's why the algos absolutely have to be secret, and there has to be no barrier to rapid iteration and innovation. The minute that changes, black hat wins and search goes back to looking like Altavista before it died. In that scenario everyone loses.
It's also imperative that there's a financial incentive to continue to innovate and stay (sort of) ahead in the arms race. It's easy to imagine that a government (or a nonprofit) could run search well, but that's only without an understanding of the scope and depth of the technology involved.
I'm not sure what the best solution is, but there's no question transparency isn't it.
I do, by the way, appreciate your idea of mandating more reasonable due process. However I'd add that if your business relies on search, you're gambling. It's often a smart gamble, for as long as it lasts organic rankings are free money, but be honest with yourself about it.