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LIFESTYLE

Most Say No to Government Regulation of Search Engines

Most Americans give high marks to Internet search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing and don't think the government needs to regulate their responses.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 77% of Adults say there is no need for government regulation of the way that search engines select the recommendations they provide in response to search inquiries. Just 11% believe such regulation is necessary, while just as many (12%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here). 

The most frequent Internet users are the least likely to think regulation is needed for search engine recommendations.

Some critics complain that the search engines favor some sites over others when returning recommendations.

But then just 21% of voters think the Federal Communications Commission should regulate the Internet like it does radio and television. Most voters worry that regulation would be used to push a political agenda.
 
 (Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook. 
 
 The survey of 740 Adult Internet users nationwide was conducted on January 4-5, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

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