Google search results for the same term vary widely from user to user, a new study from a competitor finds.
Why it matters: There’s growing interest in how Google and other large web platforms filter content. Conservatives have offered unproven allegations of bias against the right, but observers of all stripes worry that platforms can narrow users’ view of the world, rather than expand them.
Details: The privacy-oriented rival search engine DuckDuckGo had a group of volunteers search for the same terms — “gun control,” “immigration” and “vaccinations” — at the same time.
The company eliminated variations that could have occurred as a result of the search users’ location or, because the users made their queries at the same time, when they made the searches.
The big picture: Google has long touted personalized search results as a user benefit. But nearly a decade ago critics began noting that filtered search results can end up isolating users from information that doesn't match their world views in what Eli Pariser dubbed "filter bubbles."
What they're saying: "Google has claimed to have taken steps to reduce its filter bubble problem, but our latest research reveals a very different story," DuckDuckGo said in its report.
The other side: Google says it is working to improve the quality of its results, including in the boxes of featured content that appear at the top of search results.
