Have you ever wondered why when you search for Black-related news using Google, several ads selling access to criminal history and arrest records pop up? According to Harvard professor Latanya Sweeney, that happens more often than we think and may expose society’s racial bias.

Prof Sweeney’s investigation suggests that names linked with Black people – as defined by a previous study into racial discrimination in the workplace – were 25% more likely to have results that prompted the searcher to click on a link to search criminal record history.

She found that names like Leroy, Kareem and Keisha would yield advertisements that read “Arrested?”, with a link to a website which could perform criminal record checks.

Searches for names such as Brad, Luke and Katie would not – instead more likely to offer websites that can provide general contact details.

“There is discrimination in the delivery of these ads,” concluded Prof Sweeney, adding that there was a less than 1% chance that the findings could be based on chance.