Internet users highly rely on and trust web search engines, such as Google, to find relevant information online. However, scholars have documented numerous biases and inaccuracies in search outputs. To improve the quality of search results, search engines employ various content moderation practices such as interface elements informing users about potentially dangerous websites and algorithmic mechanisms for downgrading or removing low-quality search results. While the reliance of the public on web search engines and their use of moderation practices is well-established, user attitudes towards these practices have not yet been explored in detail. To address this gap, we first conducted an overview of content moderation practices used by search engines, and then surveyed a representative sample of the US adult population (N=398) to examine the levels of support for different moderation practices applied to potentially misleading and/or potentially offensive content in web search. We also analyzed the relationship between user characteristics and their support for specific moderation practices. We find that the most supported practice is informing users about potentially misleading or offensive content, and the least supported one is the complete removal of search results. More conservative users and users with lower levels of trust in web search results are more likely to be against content moderation in web search.

翻译：互联网用户高度依赖并信任谷歌等网络搜索引擎来查找相关信息。然而，学者们已记录到搜索结果中存在的众多偏差和不准确性。为提升搜索结果质量，搜索引擎采用了多种内容审核实践，例如通过界面元素提醒用户注意潜在危险网站，以及使用算法机制对低质量搜索结果进行降权或移除。虽然公众对网络搜索引擎的依赖及其审核实践已得到充分证实，但用户对这些实践的态度尚未得到详细探讨。为弥补这一空白，我们首先概述了搜索引擎采用的内容审核实践，随后对代表性美国成年人口样本（N=398）展开调查，以检验用户对不同审核实践（针对网络搜索中潜在误导性和/或冒犯性内容）的支持程度。我们还分析了用户特征与其对特定审核实践支持度之间的关系。研究发现，最受支持的做法是告知用户潜在误导性或冒犯性内容，而最不受支持的是完全移除搜索结果。较为保守的用户以及对网络搜索结果信任度较低的用户更倾向于反对网络搜索中的内容审核。