---
title: "Zocalo Public Square: Search Engines"
summary: |-
  Search engines reflect the wisdom of the crowd, but the crowd is not always right, and sometimes popularity trumps accuracy.
date: "2012-06-22"
issues: ["Internet"]
authors: ["Daniel Castro"]
content_type: "Op-Eds & Contributed Articles"
canonical_url: "https://itif.org/publications/2012/06/22/zocalo-public-square-search-engines/"
---

# Zocalo Public Square: Search Engines

Senior Analyst Daniel Castro provided expert commentary in an op-ed for *Zocalo Public Square* on how Google is changing public knowledge. Castro wrote search engines have become a crucial intermediary between people and the information they seek. But in addition to asking whether search engines should reflect the wisdom of the crowd and whether they should reflect the preferences of the user, we can also ask whether search engines should help people access illegal content or whether search engines should help governments engage in censorship.

---
*Source: Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF)*
*URL: https://itif.org/publications/2012/06/22/zocalo-public-square-search-engines/*