Google and Facebook have ambitious goals. Both reach billions of people. And while giving access to new things, they also give themselves and others access to us. More importantly, they control who has access and in which direction.

You don’t have to like that power in one company’s hand, but we were all free to create the best search engine or social media network. They did it. And a spate of new rules come from their corporate offices each month. None have the power of government or law behind them, but if we want to use their services, we have to play by their rules. And those rules change often.

Some or all of those rules may impact you or your organization. But it’s important for every organization to know that their strategies can be changed or derailed by one simple announcement from either one of these industry giants.

The articles in this issue cover the cancelation of a generous advertising grant program’s upper limits, the tagging of websites with a label called “not secure” if they don’t meet certain guidelines, and even a statement from Facebook that  mobile site speed is important enough and that they might start rejecting your ads if your site takes too long to load.

As these companies make rules that shape the global Internet experience, it’s a great strategy to be vigilant about big changes. Make sure your team has access to people who track changes and can help your organization make fast, appropriate adjustments to its online presence.