Legal Questions English Speakers Ask Google The Most

Legal quandaries can give you enlightenment to the person experiencing them. Often those with hidden legal worries, or simple questions will resort to a quick Google search. These searches are not often seen by anyone else, so they can truly give you a peek into the population's true thoughts.

SEM Rush, a software company located in Boston, gathered search for information from English Speakers for one year, May 2018 to May 2019. The searches included are legal matters from internet search engine date from the UK, Canada, and the US.

So, finding similarities were easy, but there were also other questions that stood out as region-specific. While reading these common legal question, consider the economic and social differences between the countries that could drive these patterns.  

"Is It Legal To Marry..."

Weddings and the act of marrying stood out as a common question across the three countries. The twist is that in Canada 190 people per month were questioning if it was legal to marry yourself. The US and UK had the question 'is it legal to marry a cousin.' 

Marijuana-Related Questions

The US stood out of the three, with the most asked question, 'is it legal to buy edibles online?' being unique to the country. Edibles are foods, candies, etc that have marijuana content, and they are federally illegal in the States. However, it was still searched 1,800 times during the entire month.  The Canadians stats, where weed is legal, were substantially lower at 250 occasions per month. Lastly, residents of the US were interested more in knowing if it was legal to grow 'hemp', with it as the 7th most asked legal question. 

"Is it legal to drive barefoot?"

Driving barefoot was a common question between the US and the UK. The question of if taking off your shoes and driving is a crime ranked as number 2 in the countries. This was definitely not the case in Canada, with Canadians only searching this 50 times a month.

The Legality of Recording Conversations

Recording conversations was a legal topic searched commonly across all countries. They wondered if recording phone calls or such would be legal in Canada with almost 400 searches per month. The US topped this with 675 searches per month, but this was UK fourth most asked question with 350 people searching it monthly.

Reflections On the Counties' Social Climate

If it is legal to sleep in a car was asked many times in the US, but lacked the numbers in the UK or Canada. This can be a reflection on the types of homeless margins are in the United States, compared to the lower percentages in the other two countries. Consider, as well, that the shift in the traveling trend is pushing this number with internet users wondering if it is legal to sleep in one's car between cities, at rest stops, or other properties thought of as 'public '. 

Also, the Uk had similarities with the US by wondering if it was legal to keep a father from his children. Unfortunately, this was the 11th most asked question in the UK and the third-ranking in the United States. 

All of these statistics can reflect the mass wonderings trends for the specific region for the time-being. With clear correspondence between happenings in the countries, and the legal questions often searched, it is surely interesting to make deductions. Similarly to searching medical matters on the internet, it is always better to reach a professional about the matter. Legal offices, like the Becker Law Office, can answer real legal questions, without wondering if the information is falsified, or even breaking down the field's specific terminology. 

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