Diet Google: DuckDuckGo Dinged by Privacy Ratings Service for Lack of Transparency

DuckDuckGo, the search engine that bills itself as a privacy-centered alternative to Google, but appears to censor conservative news to an even greater degree than its giant competitor, has been dinged by a privacy ratings service for lacking transparency.

Neutronian’s annual Data Privacy Scores have placed DuckDuckGo, which monetizes its services through Microsoft-owned Bing, in the bottom 10 percent of companies for data privacy, partly because of its weak transparency.

“DuckDuckGo, a search engine marketing its services based on privacy, but monetize services through Bing, got dinged for lack of disclosure and transparency,” Timur Yarnall, CEO at Neutronian, told MediaPost.

DuckDuckGo has long presented itself as the plucky, values-driven alternative to Google. But the search engine appears to censor its results just as much, if not more, than its Big Tech rival.

Like Google, DuckDuckGo has a News Tab, where Breitbart News appears to be completely excluded. Searches for the exact string of a Breitbart News headline in DuckDuckGo’s news tab yield no results. The Daily Caller and Newsmax also appear to be completely banned from the News Tab.

Google censors conservative media too, as Breitbart News has extensively covered. But DuckDuckGo seems to be no better. The search engine’s CEO has publicly boasted about “down-ranking sites associated with disinformation.”

There are some search engines that emphasize political neutrality. Tusk, which has already launched a browser, is currently raising funds on WeFunder to develop a search engine with an emphasis on free speech. The search engine’s beta version is already available for testing, and allows users to view search results with a range of partisan filters.

Jeff Bermant, CEO of Tusk, told Breitbart News that it is time for a search engine that doesn’t try to shape the views of its users.

“Americans need a search engine with results they can trust. Both Google and DuckDuckGo manipulate search results and censor conservative media. I’ve been frustrated with the lack of an alternative and that’s why Tusk Search is so necessary. You deserve to find what you’re looking for when you use a search engine, not what Silicon Valley wants you to find.”

Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. He is the author of #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election.