Search engines, such as Google, have a considerable impact on society. Therefore, undesirable consequences, such as retrieving incorrect search results, pose a risk to users. Although previous research has reported the adverse outcomes of web search, little is known about how search engine users evaluate those outcomes. In this study, we show which aspects of web search are perceived as risky using a sample (N = 3,884) representative of the German Internet population. We found that many participants are often concerned with adverse consequences immediately appearing on the search engine result page. Moreover, participants' experiences with adverse consequences are directly related to their risk perception. Our results demonstrate that people perceive risks related to web search. In addition to our study, there is a need for more independent research on the possible detrimental outcomes of web search to monitor and mitigate risks. Apart from risks for individuals, search engines with a massive number of users have an extraordinary impact on society; therefore, the acceptable risks of web search should be discussed.

翻译：搜索引擎（如谷歌）对社会具有显著影响。因此，获取错误搜索结果等不良后果对用户构成风险。尽管已有研究报道了网络搜索的不良后果，但关于搜索引擎用户如何评估这些后果仍知之甚少。本研究以德国互联网人口代表性样本（N=3,884）为对象，揭示了网络搜索中被视为风险的方面。研究发现，许多参与者经常担忧搜索引擎结果页面中即时出现的不良后果。此外，参与者的不良后果体验与其风险感知直接相关。我们的结果表明，人们能够感知到网络搜索相关的风险。除本研究外，还需要更多独立研究来监测和缓解网络搜索可能产生的负面影响。除个体风险外，拥有海量用户的搜索引擎对社会具有非凡影响，因此应就网络搜索的可接受风险展开讨论。