In the Google Help center the answer to the question "Does Google censor search results?" is updated. Here is what one can read now:
Here is what the answer was before the update:
Should I comment?
It is Google's policy not to censor search results. However, in response to local laws, regulations, or policies, we may do so. When we remove search results for these reasons, we display a notice on our search results pages. Please note: For some older removals (before March 2005), we may not show a notice at this time.
Here is what the answer was before the update:
Google does not censor results for any search term. The order and content of our results are completely automated; we do not manipulate our search results by hand. We believe strongly in allowing the democracy of the web to determine the inclusion and ranking of sites in our search results. To learn more about Google’s search technology, please visit ...
Should I comment?
01 Feb 2006 08:49:41
Actually in composing an article about Google's recent bowing down to China I did a little testing of results between Google, Yahoo and MSN. The results were interesting.
Google appeared to be quite unbaiased. If there was a bais it was shared by all three major search engines. MSN if you did not touch a topic that Microsoft considered dangerous you often found very similer results as on Yahoo or Google but of the three MSN was clearly the most comercial and returned the fewest usable results. Yahoo seemed to be inbetween but Yahoo likes to sneak comercial sites in that look like relivent sites. I am thinking about expanding this testing and write a second article on just that. My sampling was small.
I used 3 tests on Linux or Open source related sites. MSN consistantly brought up sites that favored Microsoft or were sponsored by Microsoft in these searchs. Yahoo and Google had relivent search results. On a serach on the Meta file exploit only Google brought back a site with actual exploit code for it. This was in the first two pages of the search. MSN did not provide any link like that in first five pages and Yahoo you had to go 4 or 5 deep I think.
So I personally do not think Google currently censors non-Chinese traffic. MSN clearly does. Yahoo appears to be so commercial laden that censorship attempts would slow it down to a crawl.
01 Feb 2006 08:52:43
Clicked finish too quickly and there is no edit button so I apologize for the double posting.
To continue. I used several searchs on inoxious and random terms and searchs I pulled from Lycos top search terms. When I did not touch a subject Microsoft felt threatened by I found that MSN returned many of the same sites as Google and Yahoo. Sometimes all three engines had nearly identical top 10 results pages. Technical searchs seemed to meet with more success on Google however. My total sampling was on 10 searchs.
26 Nov 2006 13:14:22
Just a quick one, do u remember that photo from asia with a guy standing in front of a few tanks in protest? Well if you search for that (sorry i know i should but i actually dont know whats its called, something about a Tiananmen Square i think) in the country its from you wont be shown by google. Im not sure about Yahoo n the rest but i though it needed noteing. This is a really bad post and without much good info but ive been up for almost 26hrs now so thats the best i can do. BTW the event im talking about is VERY famous, its probably the one your thinking about.
My point is i DO think google censors search results. Also Draciron that might be a good test if u can think of a way of doing it. Using .com n .jp might not work as the will know where u r from ur IP
Let me know if u do it, id b interested in knowing a little more about this...
Again, sorry about the quality of this post.
26 Nov 2006 13:17:25
Uh-oh... I forgot the most important word i needed to say, "apparently".
Sorry guys.