Porn Continues to Invade Google Web Search Through Universal Search

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June 24, 2008

Porn Continues to Invade Google Web Search Through Universal Search

I continue to report porn on Google over here, at Search Engine Land, via email to Googlers, via Twitter and Plurk and so on. But it seems that this is a battle Google is not winning. Why is this such an issue, because if a kid searches on his or her new bathroom, he or she may see this result:

I blocked out parts of the image for obvious reasons. But this is an issue that I see prop up time and time again, since Google began adding images to search results.

But now Google has added a "report images" link, it looks like this:

So I clicked it and was shown this:

I clicked "Confirm" and was offered a thank you:

It is nice to see Google adding that method of reporting offensive images but it might be a bit too late now?

Forum discussion at DigitalPoint Forums.

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posted rustybrick in Google Optimization at June 24, 2008 7:14 AM Comments (12)

Comments

I love porn, kids do too!

Posted by James at June 24, 2008 08:03

From the screen captures it appears you can only report all 3 images at once, unfairly harming the two images with out the, um, model. Is this the case or was there some way of reporting just the one image that isn't shown?

Posted by Rich Brooks at June 24, 2008 08:14

I guess it is reporting the search result overall, which is fine.

Posted by Barry Schwartz at June 24, 2008 08:16

when machines fail...

Posted by effisk at June 24, 2008 10:07

Barry - are you sure those aren't personalized results? j/k. I reported the result as well to see if it makes a difference, though I'm guessing that you writing about it will have more of an impact (at least on that specific search)

Posted by Dustin at June 24, 2008 11:38

And now, we are not getting that offensive image there in the search results.

Good.

Posted by Amit Verma at June 25, 2008 01:26

I think a collective growing up and getting over it might be the simplest answer. People like sex, it sells, it's big business. Move on.

Posted by Bill Kruse at June 25, 2008 09:21

BB... I think the important point is that it shouldn't pop up for irrelevant searches. I know my wife would not be fond of that "new bathroom" decoration.

Posted by jb at June 25, 2008 10:41

Damn it looks like the image is no longer there. :-) Do/did you have safesearch turned off?

Posted by ms at June 26, 2008 16:58

Safe search was set to the default.

Posted by Barry Schwartz at June 26, 2008 17:16

The result is still relevant, (one sees a bathroom, does one disagrre with one on that?) a bit more than you bargained for!
(I would be offended if she was clothed in the same picture, that wouldn’t make sense).

$100’s says that the most clicked-on image was that one!

James and Bill, right on! Ms, you missed out; it worked when I tried it! Had to see it to believe it.

Google do a sterling job, they cannot always prevent determined hardened, black-hat, individuals that exploit the system (rather intelligent individuals one must add to beat the Yale/Harvard graduates working for Google).

Posted by Rob Abdul at July 1, 2008 17:40

To state the obvious which it seems some commenter's don't see - the issue here is searching for something unrelated to porn and having pornographic images appearing in one's search results. Several comments don't seem to get it. It's got nothing to do with "sex selling". To dismiss this by saying "get over it" or "move on" demonstrates a couldn't care less attitude. This is a serious issue and Google had better start to take it seriously before it gets out of hand.

Posted by dms at May 8, 2009 17:41

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