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Google Ads Are a Free Speech Issue

Posted by kdawson on from the free-as-in-not-speaking dept.

WebHostingGuy writes "A US Federal Court recently ruled that ads displayed by search engines are protected as free speech. In the case at issue, Yahoo!, Google, and Microsoft were sued by an individual demanding under the 14th Amendment that the search engines display his advertisements concerning fraud in North Carolina. The Court flatly stated that the search engines were exercising their First Amendment right of free speech in deciding what ads they want to display."

7 of 148 comments (clear)

  1. Human Rights by LainTouko · · Score: 5, Funny

    Good to see the human rights of search engines being protected.

    Ah, wait...

    1. Re:Human Rights by ack154 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Think of the search engine's children!

    2. Re:Human Rights by quixote9 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah. They're way more important that the human rights of humans. Money doesn't talk. It swears.

    3. Re:Human Rights by roman_mir · · Score: 1, Funny

      Think! (fixed it for you.)

      --
      You can't handle the truth.
  2. Re:Off topic :: Firehose by Donniedarkness · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yes, I do.

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  3. Winner! by alexgieg · · Score: 2, Funny

    Do you realize that, by this being published in Slashdot, the guy got more publicity than if he had simply been allowed to publish his ads on the three ad networks?

    --
    Conservatism: (n.) love of the existing evils. Liberalism: (n.) desire to substitute new evils for the existing ones.
  4. Before anyone else flames me by rfc1394 · · Score: 2, Funny

    In the next to the last paragraph, the last line should read "there ain't that much room available." Now, if you don't like use of the word "ain't," then substitute "isn't."

    --
    The lessons of history teach us - if they teach us anything - that nobody learns the lessons that history teaches us.