Google alters the way Image search handles adult content
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 12th Dec 2012 22:03 UTC
Google A change to anything related to Google Search - the product so many of us rely on - is never going to go by unnotoced. This time around, Google has altered Image Search for US users to alter the way it handles that ever so important aspect of the web - adult content.
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RE[3]: Comment by Zaitch
by WereCatf on Fri 14th Dec 2012 06:31 UTC in reply to "RE[2]: Comment by Zaitch"
WereCatf
Member since:
2006-02-15

In general I think filtering hardcore porn from the search results is an okay idea and it's not necessarily healthy for children to be exposed to such, but I don't agree with the method Google went for here; Safe Search is the correct place to put this in as that is user-controllable and can be disabled -- filtering of content without giving a consenting adult a way of disabling that filtering I cannot agree with. A user called "johjeff" here wrote a sentence that quite well summarizes why:

It just makes it less likely that people who are not interested in the stuff YOU deem acceptable will stumble across it accidentally.


That is, a group of people deem what should be acceptable and opposing opinions will be filtered from the view of the larger audience. While what Google is doing here is still pretty benign, such filtering is still a very slippery slope and slipping even once will send you on a fast path to doom.

Reply Parent Score: 3

RE[4]: Comment by Zaitch
by Bounty on Fri 14th Dec 2012 19:21 in reply to "RE[3]: Comment by Zaitch"
Bounty Member since:
2006-09-18

In general I think filtering hardcore porn from the search results is an okay idea and it's not necessarily healthy for children to be exposed to such, but I don't agree with the method Google went for here; Safe Search is the correct place to put this in as that is user-controllable and can be disabled -- filtering of content without giving a consenting adult a way of disabling that filtering I cannot agree with.


How about instead of thinking of it as censorship, think of it as trying to give correct results. As an adult I don't search with "Safe Search" on, however if I want to search for "gay" for whatever reason..... doesn't necessarily mean (imply) I want to see a bunch of guys slamming each other in the ass. The difference between "gay wedding" and "gay wedding porn" is signifigant.

Reply Parent Score: 2