Google Search Features Reveal Protected Names of Sexual Assault Victims

A report recently found that features of Google Search are allowing people to view real names of protected sexual assault victims.

When someone casually uses the Google search engine, they may notice that the website lists down several keyword suggestions even before they finish typing. Also, after entering a name of a person on the search bar, people can also notice that search results for a different individual comes up and is being displayed on the side of the screen. These are the features called the “autocomplete” and “related search.”

These features come in handy, however, there is a lapse in its algorithm that affects United Kingdom’s laws to protect the identity of victims of sexual assault. London-based publication The Times was the first to spot the issue.

According to the report, when someone enters the name of convicted and suspected sexual assault attackers, the names of their victims automatically show up as well through related search or the predictive autocomplete feature. Meanwhile, The Times also found that entering an assault victim’s name will also reveal related search results for their particular abuser.

In a general sense, these Google Search features are how they are supposed to work. However, Google is called on to address the issue that would echo UK’s laws on protecting sexual assault victims.

UK public officials have also expressed their concern over the issue. Women and Equalities Committee chair Maria Miller said, “Google has to operate within the law of the UK . . . if that means they have to change how their search engine operates, then so be it.”

Meanwhile, a Google representative responded to the issue saying, "We don't allow these kinds of autocomplete predictions or related searches that violate laws or our own policies and we remove examples when we're made aware of them. We recently expanded our removals policy to cover predictions which disparage victims of violence and atrocities, and we encourage people to send us feedback about any sensitive or bad predictions."