Google Trends vs. Community Standards On Obscenity

circletimessquare writes "Google Trends is being used in a novel way in a pornography trial in Florida. Under a 1973 Supreme Court ruling, 'contemporary community standards' may be used as a yardstick for judging material as unprotected obscenity. This is a very subjective judgment, and so Lawrence Walters, a defense lawyer for Clinton Raymond McCowen, is using Google Trends to show that, in the privacy of their own homes, more people in Pensacola (the only city in the court's jurisdiction that is large enough to be singled out in the service's data) are interested in 'orgy' than "apple pie'."

Comments

Re:Hyprocrisy in the South--film at eleven!

[caffeinemessiah]

Taking Pensacola's data as a baseline will offer skewed results. Pensacola has a large Navy population, so would have higher porn related searches then the rest of the communities in the area from the Navy personnel stationed there alone.

As a navy semen, I reject your pornosition that sex is always on our minds.

Re:Petard, meet hoist.

[jefu]

Sexual intercourse is meant to be an act performed in private for the two parties that love and care for each other deeply enough to create a stronger bond.

Interesting statement. "meant" - by whom? Who says it should be performed in private (except people nowadays)?

You're assuming quite a bit, I suspect. I, on the other hand, know for sure that the FSM meant for sexual intercourse to be performed in large tubs of grated parmesan cheese by dozens of people at once.

Re:Is that only in Pensacola?

[lilomar]

Here you go.

Black = orgy more interesting.
Red = apple pie more interesting.
White = water.

Re:Petard, meet hoist.

[MrNaz]

"Plants are sexual too"

Yea, I've been noticing my petunias giving me the eye lately. Must be that time of year...