diff --git a/app/controllers/search_controller.rb b/app/controllers/search_controller.rb
index ae686d8f..c9fcc7db 100644
--- a/app/controllers/search_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/search_controller.rb
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ class SearchController < ApplicationController
       builder = builder.where(user: user) if user
       @topics = builder.order(:name)
     else
+      skip_policy_scope
       @topics = []
     end