Pretty good article on Google's power to censor the Internet.
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Google’s power of censorship: who controls the controllers of the internet?
Imagine a world where Google has no secrets, where all search engines play
fair, and where SEO doesn’t have to be synonymous with “page one.” Sound
like a fairy tale?
The Internet is often cast as the great democratizer, and Google its noble
gate-keeper. There’s no doubt that search engines help us easily navigate
the web, but we have to remember that Google is a corporation, not a public
service.
Our faith in its wisdom and guidance is based on little more than a
carefully planned PR scheme. Behind that curtain, few of us really have any
idea what’s going on. That kind of blind trust may be dangerous for content
creators and consumers alike, both in terms of what we see and what we get.
...
At the same time, though, how can we know when and where to draw the line?
At what point does “corporate responsibility” become a catch-all phrase for
“Google does what Google wants”?
The point Epstein makes is that with virtually every case of good Samaritan
censorship practiced by the “do no evil” company, similar tactics have been
used to justify some pretty blatant power grabs or downright bullying.
...
It comes as no surprise that Google harbors a tremendous power to influence,
say, the results of a certain upcoming political election, or even to sway
public opinion on the latest Taylor Swift/Kanye West escapade. The question
is – and it’s a contentious one – where does it all end?
At what point (and sooner or later, there must come a point) will the
authorities and powers-that-be have to reign in Google’s master controls
over internet content and searchability?
After all, the FCC’s net neutrality ruling last year made internet service
practically a public utility – in regulation, if not in name. And after
broadband service providers, no one has more influence and control over the
flow of the web than Google does.
“If Google were just another mom-and-pop shop with a sign saying ‘we reserve
the right to refuse service to anyone’, that would be one thing,” Epstein
writes. “But as the golden gateway to all knowledge, Google has rapidly
become an essential in people’s lives – nearly as essential as air or water.
We don’t let public utilities make arbitrary and secretive decisions about
denying people services; we shouldn’t let Google do so either.”
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http://tinyurl.com/j9u8vzw
I would like to add that mom-and-pop shops are no longer allowed to put up
"we reserve the right to refuse" signs.
Bing? DuckDuckGo? Time to choose a new search engine.
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Zero Tolerance for iCultists and WinTrolls