New ‘child-friendly’ search engine blocks all LGBT content
By Ben Kelly
A new search engine for children is banning any access to LGBT material.
Kiddle.co, which is created as a more visual based search tool, prevents kids from accessing any LGBT material, as it cannot safely filter out inappropriate content. A search for any gay or LGBT-related word is met with an error page, which explains to children why it is not permitting them to proceed.
The message reads: “You have entered an LGBT related search query. Please realize that while Kiddle has nothing against the LGBT community, it’s hard to guarantee the safety of all the search results for such queries.
“We recommend that you talk to your parent or guardian about such topics.”
Although the measure is clearly in place to prevent children from accessing unsavoury content, the blanket ban also means they cannot access material which may be beneficial, or even necessary, for young LGBT people. While searches for things like the Stonewall charity, Switchboard and even Attitude are not blocked by the filter, they don’t bring up the relevant websites.
LGBT content is not alone in being censored: All traditional ‘adult’ searches are met with a barrier, which isn’t quite as conciliatory as the one LGBT searches receives. Instead, Kiddle writes: “Oops, looks like your query contained some bad words. Please try again!”
Other commentators have criticised the search engine for filtering out other information that may be useful to young people.
Hey, Kiddle – you really need to make your new search engine more #periodpositive. #everydaysexism @EverydaySexism pic.twitter.com/Rw19fZ894S
— Chella Quint (@chellaquint) March 1, 2016
Although Kiddle uses results from Google, it is not affiliated with the search engine giant.
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