>search has transitioned from "show me what is on the internet, limited by the power of our algorithms" into something more like "show me what is on the internet, limited by the overton window[2] of our legal, PR, and advertiser-relations departments".
I'd say it has gone full; "Show me what your advertisers and other sources of income, would like someone like me to find on the internet."
I refrained from going so far in part because there's places you can still get great info on things like pihole, which would violate the interests of those departments.
But my gut says that it's not that google is defending the sanctity of such results, but that those results are an annoyance and not a real threat, so are just off the radar. When someone with enough sway wants them gone, I've got no doubt they'd be nerfed too.
I'd say it has gone full; "Show me what your advertisers and other sources of income, would like someone like me to find on the internet."