Remember when people kept saying that they were dumping Google because DuckDuckGo was all about free speech and legitimate search results? Well, not anymore.
Over the last few years, many conservatives have insisted that they were using DuckDuckGo because it didn’t screen search results — thereby giving a truer result — and also did not save user data.
The latter is a bit hard to prove and it is clear in DuckDuckGo’s code that the search site does have the capability to do so. Whether it does or not, is hard to say.
So, we’ll put that aside for now. But let’s go on to the other point, that DuckDuckGo does not alter search results so that users only see what DuckDuckGo wants users to see.
That seemed true… until now.
A of this month, DuckDuckGo admitted that it is now preventing users from seeing results that would take them to Russian sites or sites that support Russia.
Search site CEO Gabriel Weinberg proudly admitted it, too.
“Like so many others I am sickened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the gigantic humanitarian crisis it continues to create. #StandWithUkraine,” Weinberg wrote.
“At DuckDuckGo, we’ve been rolling out search updates that down-rank sites associated with Russian disinformation,” he added.
Like so many others I am sickened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the gigantic humanitarian crisis it continues to create. #StandWithUkraine️
At DuckDuckGo, we've been rolling out search updates that down-rank sites associated with Russian disinformation.
— Gabriel Weinberg (@yegg) March 10, 2022
DuckDuckGo's mission is to make simple privacy protection accessible to all. Privacy is a human right and transcends politics, which is why about 100 million people around the world use DuckDuckGo. (We don't have an exact count since we don't track people.)
— Gabriel Weinberg (@yegg) March 10, 2022
Well, now DuckDuckGo is exactly the same as Google.
So much for freedom on the web.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston
Tags: Big Tech Commentary free speech freedom internet
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