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Google's Gatekeepers

theodp writes "With control of 63% of the world's Internet searches, as well as ownership of YouTube, the NY Times reports that Google is the most powerful and protean of the Internet gatekeepers, exerting enormous influence over who can find an audience on the Web around the world. Deciding what controversial material does and doesn't appear on the local search engines Google maintains in many countries — as well as on Google.com, YouTube, Blogger, Picasa, and Orkut — falls on the shoulders of Nicole Wong and her colleagues, who have arguably been given more influence over online expression than anyone else on the planet. Some find Google's gatekeeper role worrisome: 'If your whole game is to increase market share,' says Lawrence Lessig, 'it's hard to do good, and to gather data in ways that don't raise privacy concerns or that might help repressive governments to block controversial content.'"

150 comments

  1. That does seem fair. by Emesee · · Score: 0

    Does it?

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  2. They blacklist sites without checking the reason by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    www.annabelleigh.net got blacklisted awhile back for allegedly hosting illegal material.

    It doesn't. It never has. I take that back: If anyone posts illegal material it is removed swiftly. It's still mostly blacklisted.

    Yahoo still indexes it.

    Call this sour grapes and maybe it is but Google doesn't make much effort to fix errors that have only a small impact on the average person.

  3. This is news? by vvaduva · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why is this news? Not that I agree with their political message, but World Net Daily (wnd.com) has been on the receiving end of Google's actions for a while now, supposedly due to political motives; so yes, this should worry anyone interested in free and open access to information.

    1. Re:This is news? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or maybe no one wants to read articles just pulling to prove a point.

    2. Re:This is news? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Borg doesn't call dissenters "dumbasses." You are using the wrong script lines dude!

    3. Re:This is news? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As an employee of Google,

      Yeah right. In that case you shouldn't have any trouble naming the cafe that just recently closed. Unless you prove otherwise, you are just another anonymous turd on the internet. On the off chance you do work at Google, I hope you get fired for making a "funny" joke to the wrong person. I'm glad that I can work at a place that (for the most part) treats women fairly, and I will do what I can to keep it that way.

    4. Re:This is news? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As an employee of Google,

      Yeah right. In that case you shouldn't have any trouble naming the cafe that just recently closed.

      Because, of course, every Google employee works in Mountain View...

    5. Re:This is news? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because, of course, every Google employee who claims to regularly be sleeping with an employee in Mountain View works in Mountain View...

      FTFY.

      Also, any global employee would be able to look up the answer to this question pretty easily. I'm looking at the cafe menu for Zurich right now...

  4. It's "hard" but.. by JackassJedi · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ..Google does it still pretty well.

    There are much worse scenarios imaginable, which I'll leave as an exercise for the reader.

    By saying this I don't want to bless all the problematic things that are happening, and it's certainly always helpful to "watch back", but we could be already living in an information nightmare already, which we aren't thanks, in part, to Google: If some other big company would have as big a share as Google, I wonder how they'd behave (don't mod me as troll please, it's just to show that we're still doing quite well.)

    --
    Power corrupts the few, while weakness corrupts the many.
    1. Re:It's "hard" but.. by ascari · · Score: 1

      Before Google there was yahoo, before Yahoo there was (and so on) Did the predcessors really do a worse job, and if sohow? Or am I remembering through rosecolored neurons?

    2. Re:It's "hard" but.. by syntek · · Score: 0, Troll

      Google is top because it's a very quick and robust search engine and has always had the policy of keeping users privacy a one of their top priorities.

    3. Re:It's "hard" but.. by onefriedrice · · Score: 1

      Your statement was true right up until you started saying something about privacy.

      1. It's hard to tell whether or not privacy is a concern at all for Google.
      2. Even if it is, it certainly isn't why they're so popular.

      --
      This author takes full ownership and responsibility for the unpopular opinions outlined above.
    4. Re:It's "hard" but.. by JackassJedi · · Score: 1

      That's not the point. TFA is about Google, so I was pointing out what Google is doing. The previous companies didn't have as much of a marketshare. Granted, I'm just trying to save my argument, but it's not really as bad as you're pointing out ;)

      --
      Power corrupts the few, while weakness corrupts the many.
    5. Re:It's "hard" but.. by gormanw · · Score: 0

      Google is a private enterprise and well within their rights to run the business as they see fit, assuming there is no illegality. However, Google decided to enter the political arena, specifically their stand on California's Proposition 8. This, and other criticisms have brought into question whether Google could be trusted with opposing view points Were I a shareholder, I would question any political expenditure, that didn't directly relate to running the business. While a company is free do these things and take certain positions, one has to wonder whether share holders and the Board of Directors think it is wise. Personally, as a highly respected information broker, as well as ad machine, I think Google should stay out of politics and remain neutral.

  5. Borg by girlintraining · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It's fitting that the NY Times used the word protean to describe Google, since the word also has alternative meanings as a bacteria and is linked to a greek fable of a shape-changing god of the ocean. The problem of the internet is that people, unlike machines, don't handle decentralization well. Anarchy has always been a temporary reprise from authoritarian constructs. In and of itself that's not a problem, but there's too much political pressure to censor, alter, and manipulate access to online information, and let's face it: Very, very few of us have the resources to conduct an exhaustive independent search on the internet.

    Honestly, I'm surprised the United States hasn't declared Google (and other major internet pieces) a national security asset and moved to place it under government protection. They've done it before -- citizens who worked on the Manhattan project, for example. It could also easily be looked at as a target for terrorism -- blasting google out of the water would have significant press coverage; And isn't the big reason for terrorism to be visible? It's hard to come up with a bigger target online right now than them.

    cue fear-mongerers and anti-government commentary in 5...4...3...

    --
    #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
    1. Re:Borg by Pichu0102 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Um, I don't think you can just "blow Google up". Don't they have datacenters around the globe?

    2. Re:Borg by maxume · · Score: 1

      That was the fear mongering that the other poster was talking about.

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    3. Re:Borg by girlintraining · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Obviously it would take a high degree of coordination and skill but an electronic attack could take them out for awhile. It's been done before to large companies. My only point is that google is an attractive target for a great many political interests both domestically and abroad.

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    4. Re:Borg by Darkness404 · · Score: 1

      Honestly, I'm surprised the United States hasn't declared Google (and other major internet pieces) a national security asset and moved to place it under government protection.

      Because it is hard to bring down Google. Google, MS, Yahoo, Apple, and a few other sites could withstand a heavy DDoS attack even by the full force of a major botnet. On the other hand, I'm sure that even the US government's sites would fail when under that much attack. Not only that but the said websites are all rather smart and won't leave open anything for crackers to exploit.

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      Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    5. Re:Borg by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Honestly, I'm surprised the United States hasn't declared Google (and other major internet pieces) a national security asset and moved to place it under government protection. They've done it before"

      It has _always_ been under USA "under government protection", as everything in SV. Google for the utube video "hidden in plain sight" [google tech talk, for authenticity]. You'll understand better the RAND of our age [google on Google Authors, and the pentagon papers].

    6. Re:Borg by D+Ninja · · Score: 1

      and let's face it: Very, very few of us have the resources to conduct an exhaustive independent search on the internet.

      I don't know. It's not too bad. I just use Google to conduct my exhaustive, independent searches.

    7. Re:Borg by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      A large fraction of the employees work at a single location in Mountain View, CA.

    8. Re:Borg by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fear-mongering? You are expecting the government to post replies to you?

    9. Re:Borg by Samschnooks · · Score: 1

      Obviously it would take a high degree of coordination and skill but an electronic attack could take them out for awhile. It's been done before to large companies.

      It would be easier to offer free beer, pizza and porn. Try getting everyone back to work after that!

    10. Re:Borg by SnprBoB86 · · Score: 1

      I know that your post was a joke, but they already DO offer free beer and food. Everyone seems to get back to work quite easily. Is the porn a work stoppage requirement?

      --
      http://brandonbloom.name
    11. Re:Borg by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      well... don't think any pathetic hacker will get in Google, all the best hackers in the world are already on their payroll (including the Chinese and the Russian renegades, those who make the best programmer/netadmin/sysadmin alive in the US look like a pathetic ubber-loser script kid...)

      And if you wonder why you are not on their payroll if you are such a big H4x0r, that is because you are not, as no good hacker live in the USA... That's why China Cyber-militias invade and own US DoD systems every day...

    12. Re:Borg by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      but they already DO offer free beer and food.

      Big deal. Porn is by far the most important one.

    13. Re:Borg by el3mentary · · Score: 1

      Well, Yahoo got taken out by that teenager a few years ago, It isn't implausible to take out google but it would need to be highly focussed and well coordinated.

      --
      I reject your reality and substitute my own.
    14. Re:Borg by wish+bot · · Score: 1

      This is getting off topic, but out of your list Apple use Akamai and Google and Yahoo have a large distributed (geographically) network. No idea about MS. It's not so much about the websites themselves, but that they have the infrustructure in place to mitigate such attacks. It's all still possible though (I remember submitting a story years ago about Google being offline in Australia for example).

      Back to the GP you're replying to, I wouldn't be surprised if 'Sovereign Risk' was one of the factors in Google's creation of it's huge distributed redundant network.

      --
      lemonade was a popular drink and it still is
    15. Re:Borg by zappepcs · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's not that difficult to script a search that checks multiple search engines to see if the same items appear. There are folks who do that. Comparing Google to other search engines is a business function these days. I don't think that Google could go too far out on a limb with modifying or restricting information without some complaints.

      When you are as Big as Google, yes, there will be complaints. You can't please everyone all of the time. That said, I've not yet heard of Google outright doing evil.

      Knowing the Bush administration and spy types in general, it's quite likely that there have been instances of co-operation, if not ongoing situations. The trouble is that given the size of Google and other Internet services providers it is not likely that there will be NO government co-operative instances. The thing to work at is keeping such things minimal and transparent/above board.

      So far, Google has been good for the world. I'm not saying it will always be so, so it is good that people are watching them.

    16. Re:Borg by ScrewMaster · · Score: 5, Funny

      My only point is that google is an attractive target for a great many political interests both domestically and abroad.

      Nah. If they take down Google, how else are they going to find out what to do with all those bombmaking materials?

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
    17. Re:Borg by Darkness404 · · Score: 1

      Well yes, but it also makes sense for a large necessary site like Google and Yahoo to have multiple locations in case of fire, floods, power outages, etc. As for MS they need to have a lot of bandwidth to be able to put out all the patch tuesday updates and I remember an article on MyDoom that when it targeted MS it showed no more of an increase of bandwidth than on an average update day.

      --
      Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    18. Re:Borg by Malevolyn · · Score: 1

      Personally, I believe it has to be a trifecta. I've successfully gotten back to work after combinations of the three, but never tried all three at once.

      --
      Your ad here.
    19. Re:Borg by qopax · · Score: 1

      But it's not like Google would stop working if they weren't there.

      --
      I pwn this comment. "The Fine Print" says so.
    20. Re:Borg by Miseph · · Score: 0

      Step 1: take down Google
      Step 2: ???
      Step 3: there's a punchline to this, but without Google you'll never know what it is.

      --
      Try not to take me more seriously than I take myself.
    21. Re:Borg by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The other problem with this concern is that if Google disappeared tomorrow we wouldn't really feel the effect that much. We would make do with MS Live, Yahoo, Gigblast, etc etc etc.

      They only have 63% of the search traffic but if they shut down their servers tonight, that traffic would flow to other search engines. Granted those other search engines might have to ramp up their infrastructure to handle the increase but I think we would make do in the mean time.

      Also, If the government nationalized Google some measurable percentage of their traffic would also re-route to other search engines reducing their gatekeeper position.

      imho

    22. Re:Borg by ScrewMaster · · Score: 1

      It's fitting that the NY Times used the word protean to describe Google

      I have the feeling they probably meant "Promethean".

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
    23. Re:Borg by girlintraining · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Or maybe the hackers in the US are smart enough to not get caught in the first place. The best hacker in the world is someone nobody's heard of. You know, as long as we're doing conspiracy theory, we might as well make it sound good.... ;)

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      #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
  6. You know.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it's just Wong.

  7. So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't go through google's gate.

    1. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But Googles gates aren't as clogged up.

  8. So.... by Darkness404 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So what is the big deal? Google censors some things, don't like it? Go to one of the thousands of other search engines. The thing about search engines is there is almost no learning curve and its incredibly easy to switch, want to use Yahoo? Just type in Yahoo rather than Google. Replace Yahoo for whatever search engine you want. If people really think that Google's censorship policies are bad for the internet the internet will switch to another search engine or create their own. The internet evolves fast, 10 years ago we didn't use Google we used other search engines, 10 years from now we probably won't use Google, we will use something else. Can't wait 10 years? Just go to a different search engine. Seriously, censorship is bad but this is the internet, not the government-regulated airspace, there is no FCC, it is global.

    --
    Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    1. Re:So.... by Starayo · · Score: 1

      Yeah, we should all switch to Cuil!

      Ah man, I crack myself up.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    2. Re:So.... by rtb61 · · Score: 1
      The whole article smells of nothing but a major google pump up. Harsh economic times and the stock price stagnates, what better than "Wong and her colleagues arguably have more influence over the contours of online expression than anyone else on the planet' or 'Wong and her colleagues will continue to exercise extraordinary power over global speech online'. Even the long abandoned by google "Don't be evil" which every should know by now has been replaced with 'you don't need to be evil' makes an appearance.

      Tough times put a hard squeeze on advertising dollars and google spam words, are a tough sell even at a low price.

      When it comes to search engines google, msn and yahoo are all prety much the same, with each of them at times producing slightly better results than the the others. The be honest the only search engine that I have found to far out perform the others in terms of giving me the answers I am looking for, wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine and there is of course http://www.dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Searching/Search_Engines// the open directory project.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    3. Re:So.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      A consumer can search elsewhere.

      A business can't just be listed elsewhere and operate on a level playing field.

      If Google gets shitty and decides to ban a small business, they can put them out of business. It's that simple. They are a scary, scary thing in online business.

  9. the vanishing chinese moon program by heroine · · Score: 0, Troll

    Remember China announcing a moon program long ago. It was on all the Goog's hits. Then your president announced he was going to cancel the Ares I program & those Goog search results on China vanished. People began supporting the Ares I cancellation, saying there were no search results for China's moon program.

    1. Re:the vanishing chinese moon program by HisMother · · Score: 2, Funny
      Nice troll (1220? An old, old troll, I guess). Google says:

      Results 1 - 10 of about 1,640,000 for China's moon program. (0.14 seconds)

      --
      Cantankerous old coot since 1957.
    2. Re:the vanishing chinese moon program by maxume · · Score: 1

      I think he is confusing why China abandoned their moon program. There isn't any reason to try and go there since it blew up, so it isn't that confusing that they would stop trying.

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
  10. Only 63% by Kent+Recal · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Only 63%? Who's the other 37%?

    I would've thought more in the >90% range.

    1. Re:Only 63% by Darkness404 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Perhaps in the USA and parts of Europe Google has around 90%, but there is a very popular Chinese search engine that is what most of the people use in China to surf the censored web and I'm sure that in some parts of Europe there are more popular search engines unknown to the rest of us.

      --
      Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    2. Re:Only 63% by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Baidu.com for China. There are no doubt many other regional search engines around the world that have significant market shares in their locales.

    3. Re:Only 63% by DigitalisAkujin · · Score: 2, Informative

      Google dominates that latin language set. Once you get into Asian languages other search engines start to win out but they are country by country.

      Korea and China for example have their own top search engine.

      Google is able to compete in all of them with market share in double digits almost everywhere but it's not de-fact.
      Google is not easy to say in none-western languages unfortunately and is therefore not a 'catchphrasy' name either.

    4. Re:Only 63% by stuartrobinson · · Score: 1

      In the US, the big three are Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft (in that order). I think Yahoo is around 20% and Microsoft around 10% (very rough estimates, don't quote me). After that, it's mostly bit players (perhaps with the exception of Ask). I'm not sure what the current numbers are but here is a TechCrunch article from June that has more specific figures: http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/06/18/comscore-may-search-data-google-yahoo-up-microsoft-slides/
      Market share varies a lot by country, though, so don't assume a similar breakdown worldwide.

    5. Re:Only 63% by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "unknown to the rest of us."
      americans are funny

    6. Re:Only 63% by ScrewMaster · · Score: 1

      "unknown to the rest of us." americans are funny

      Yes, indeed we are. You're not.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
  11. What About Choice? by GaryPatterson · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I use Google for searches, but I could easily switch to Yahoo, AltaVista or even MSN.

    Until Google start doing things to stop people using other search engines, there's no problem. If people object to the dominance of Google, they must either campaign for users to move to other engines, or create a better engine and gain marketshare.

    1. Re:What About Choice? by Scratched · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I don't think the problem is so much a lack of choice on the users' part.

      With such a large market share, if Google starts censoring results then a site essentially doesn't exist any more.. If google were censoring specific results, how would you know? Sure, if it's your data being censored, you'll probably find out, but if it isn't something you really know well, then how do you know that you're getting totally accurate results in every search?

      I'm not saying that Google is consciously censoring results (except in China), but with that kind of power, how can you be sure it won't be misused?

    2. Re:What About Choice? by cpicon92 · · Score: 0

      MSN is gone, it's called Windows Live Search now! How can you not know that?

  12. Google workforce on the extreme left by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I recently finished a year working at Google as a contractor. While it's a great company to work for, the employees are tilted to the extreme left. I think this is a direct result of their rapid expansion and hiring huge numbers straight out of college. The political leanings of the employees is going to affect how they do things, it can't be helped, even if they make an effort not to be politically biased. My politics are rather moderate, but in comparison to Google employees, I was a far right lunatic.

    1. Re:Google workforce on the extreme left by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 1

      Google's adheres to the Internet censorship policies of China,[3] enforced by means of filters colloquially known as "The Great Firewall of China". Google.cn search results are filtered so as not to bring up any results concerning the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, sites supporting the independence movements of Tibet and Taiwan or the Falun Gong movement, and other information perceived to be harmful to the People's Republic of China (PRC)."

      My politics are rather moderate, but in comparison to Google employees, I was a far right lunatic.

      Uh huh. Apparently they're conservative enough to know how to make money. How right-wing were you? Joe Lieberman, Rush Limbaugh, Strom Thurmond?

    2. Re:Google workforce on the extreme left by DigitalisAkujin · · Score: 1, Troll

      It's very difficult to be smart and not lean to the left. case and point: See Ted Conferences (ted.com)

    3. Re:Google workforce on the extreme left by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What an absolutely moronic belief. A false meme spread through the likes of DailyKos, no doubt.

      I don't belief the extreme left is stupid. I believe they are insane. For example, socialism and communism has failed in every case where it has been fully implemented, yet the extreme left still spout those bankrupt ideas as viable. Doing the same thing over and over and being surprised when the result is always the same is a sign of insanity.

    4. Re:Google workforce on the extreme left by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      really ? socialism failed ? since when ?
      almost all western countries are socialist. including the US. your SSN exists for a reason. US government operated banks and mortgage companies exist for a reason (and now the US government is the biggest auto insurer on the planet thanks to acquiring AIG).
       

    5. Re:Google workforce on the extreme left by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it's pretty far fetched to call the USA socialist. a few bailed out companies does not a socialist government make....

    6. Re:Google workforce on the extreme left by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It's all relative; Compared to places like Berkley or downtown San Francisco, Google is pretty moderate; Compared to the rest of the country, not so much. What else would you expect for a company from the San Francisco Bay area?

      P.S. We do at least have some closet Libertarians, as evidenced by the Ron Paul talk a while back. Also, remote office locations also tend to reflect the local populace pretty well.

    7. Re:Google workforce on the extreme left by z-j-y · · Score: 1

      when Fed is talking about directly planning the economy on the scale of trillion dollars, it's very socialist.

    8. Re:Google workforce on the extreme left by onefriedrice · · Score: 1

      It's very difficult to be smart and not lean to the left. case and point: See Ted Conferences (ted.com)

      And of course that's very debatable, although you probably don't realize it.
      Perhaps we could also apply this: It's very difficult to be arrogant and not lean to the left.

      Meh. I got karma to burn if the mods aren't in a good mood.

      --
      This author takes full ownership and responsibility for the unpopular opinions outlined above.
    9. Re:Google workforce on the extreme left by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Young idealist. You know how it goes.

    10. Re:Google workforce on the extreme left by ultranova · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Perhaps we could also apply this: It's very difficult to be arrogant and not lean to the left.

      Selfish and smart people tend to lean towards capitalism if they have lots of money and socialism if they don't. Unselfish and smart people tend to lean towards socialism if they consider guaranteeing everyone's physical welfare more important than economic liberty, and capitalism if the other way around. And stupid people tend to lean towards whichever side's propaganda they hear most.

      I think that about covers it.

      Meh. I got karma to burn if the mods aren't in a good mood.

      Well, since you only got that karma in the first place by shamelessly exploiting the underpaid labour of moderators, you don't really deserve it, now do you ? You leveraged your existing karma capital to attain a position of higher visibility, thus making you more likely to be modded up and increasing your karma further, smothering those poor newcomers who post at +1 like a parasitic vine casting jungle's undergrowth to permanent shadow. It wouldn't surprise me if you and your high-karma good old boy club didn't conspire to mod down all those upstarts, to maintain your stranglehold on karma.

      But the day is nearing when the karma behemoths shall be cast down, and the whole moderation system dismantled, and all posters and and all posts shall be equal !

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

    11. Re:Google workforce on the extreme left by ScrewMaster · · Score: 1

      when Fed is talking about directly planning the economy on the scale of trillion dollars, it's very socialist.

      That's really not a good definition of socialism, nor does it really relate to what's happening here. Our government is far more likely to evolve into a corporatist state ... well, in many ways that's here already.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
    12. Re:Google workforce on the extreme left by ScrewMaster · · Score: 1

      But the day is nearing when the karma behemoths shall be cast down, and the whole moderation system dismantled, and all posters and and all posts shall be equal !

      Yes, Comrade, but remember: some posts will be more equal than others.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
    13. Re:Google workforce on the extreme left by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Makes sense. Consider that google is the culmination of far right conspiracy; it makes sense that they would employ their opposition in an exploitative relationship.

    14. Re:Google workforce on the extreme left by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I recently finished a year working at Google as a contractor. While it's a great company to work for, the employees are tilted to the extreme left. My politics are rather moderate, but in comparison to Google employees, I was a far right lunatic.

      Welcome to the end of our long national nightmare! What was moderate actually was always the far right lunacy.

    15. Re:Google workforce on the extreme left by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, well, they do aim to hire only the smartest people.

      Or I might ask: new to the bay area, are you?

    16. Re:Google workforce on the extreme left by ultranova · · Score: 1

      Yes, Comrade, but remember: some posts will be more equal than others.

      But of course, Comrade, for there must always be the First among Equal Posts. The very laws of logic dictate that.

      But I promise that I won't... I mean, whoever shall be the First won't use that position for low personal gain, but for the best of all ! Some revolution in Slashdot culture is, of course, inevitable, and some posters might need to be permabanned, but I have high hopes that all but the most decadent trolls shall be re-educated in due time.

      Indeed, in the brave new Slashdot there shall be no need for moderation, for there shall be no trolldom, flamebait, or spam. Only the mentally ill would ever commit such crimes against the slasbotdom, and those suffering from such illnesses shall be granted an irrevocable place in our top-of-the-line mental institutions and treated with the very best of medicines and methods to help them understand the glory of and their place in the new unmoderated society.

      I think I'll be stopping now, I'm beginning to freak myself out with how easily that mindset comes...

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

  13. Trust by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    One reason they're good at the moment is they live and die on trust, and as soon as you lose trust in Google, it's over for them.

    So very true. For me they lost that trust sometime during the last two years.

  14. If you didn't read the article yet, please do :) by Wiseleo · · Score: 1

    That was quite enjoyable.

    I particularly like that they are willing to push the envelope of freedom of speech whenever they can.

    --
    Leonid S. Knyshov
    Find me on Quora :)
  15. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Meanwhile the don't blacklist known malicious spoof sites like shareaza.com

  16. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by cheater512 · · Score: 1

    Google doesnt care about illegal material.

    The only reason I've heard for sites getting blacklisted is for doing dodgy SEO and trying to game the system.

  17. Google cannot control content by pembo13 · · Score: 1

    Well, at least not if you don't put your content on one of their services.

    --
    "Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
  18. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by Kibblet · · Score: 1

    Have a hard time sympathizing though, to be honest.

  19. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    What the fuck? And you're surprised this crap is blacklisted?

    "Who are these people posting here?

    They are a portion of the male and female population ranging in age from their teens to quite old who share a bond of having a particular affinity for teen and/or pre-teen girls. In most cases this encompasses a clearly sexual attraction. Many choose not to act upon their sexual attraction, while others advocate a girl's freedom to sexual choice. Most of those posters accept the label 'girl lover', which is often abbreviated to 'GL' or 'GLer'. Society would call them "Pedophiles." We always have a few posters who do not identify as girl lovers, and who range from supportive to hateful."

  20. don't complain about Microsoft then by jmcbain · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I use Microsoft Windows for searches, but I could easily switch to MacOS, Linux or even Solaris.

    Until Microsoft starts doing things to stop people using other operating systems, there's no problem. If people object to the dominance of Microsoft Windows, they must either campaign for users to move to other operating systems, or create a better operating system and gain marketshare.

    1. Re:don't complain about Microsoft then by GaryPatterson · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Until Microsoft starts doing things to stop people using other operating systems, there's no problem.

      I seem to recall some issues around this... was there a trial..?

      Nice rewording of my post, but it's a shame that you reinforced my message while you thought you were knocking my point down.

    2. Re:don't complain about Microsoft then by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you know that shit is fraud. stop being a fag and join us in the human race.

    3. Re:don't complain about Microsoft then by AmberBlackCat · · Score: 1

      There's no reason this should have been marked as a 'troll'. Google is the default search engine for every popular web browser except the one controlled by Microsoft, and their search bar is installed with tons of software, including the most installed plugins on the internet. It seems very much like when Internet Explorer was being installed with every software package on the planet.

      The problem is not that people can't switch search engines. It's that they're unaware of their options. They're being fed Google. A lot of them don't know the search bar from the URL bar, and type addresses in the search engine to find the site. And even if they knew what a search engine was, and that other search engines existed, they wouldn't understand why it's worth the hassle of switching to another bar that has the same looks and specifications as the one they already have. So we have a situation in website makers have to follow Google's rules because Google is number 1, but most of the people using Google aren't in a position to choose any other as number 1.

      Google took over in a time when people actually had to type in a website address to find a search engine, just as Netscape thrived in a time when people actually had to download a web browser. Now everything comes preinstalled, and if this situation existed when Yahoo or AltaVista was king, Google never would have had a chance even when it was remarkably better than the rest.

    4. Re:don't complain about Microsoft then by Cor-cor · · Score: 1

      Google "search engines". It's even one of the top hits suggested as you type. Can you twist my words to come up with an analogous situation in Windows where it gives you a one-click option to install or even test-drive an alternative OS?

      I do use Windows on a regular basis and even prefer it for some applications, but you do have to admit that they have a bit of a lock-in. Most people have a reasonable awareness of what search engine they are using, but don't recognize what an OS is. Even if they do, switching typically means either purchasing a new computer or begging a geek friend for help (possibly even relenting to the geek friend's begging to "help').

  21. from personal experience by ahooligan · · Score: 1

    I have established a website, on it is photos of our town, flora and fauna with some neighborhood houses and a page dedicated to a Commercial Wood Smoker that has blanketed the neighborhood in mesquite smoke. Google photos has taken every photo except the ones that show the commercial smoker. They decided which photos to take editing out the ones that they didn't want. Why? I don't know who to contact about this, but it doesn't seem right to take the photos of birds,flowers and bees, leaving behind what is killing them and destroying the environment as well. http://www.gulfportinflorida.com/

    1. Re:from personal experience by primus1024 · · Score: 1

      You have put chimneys and smoke in a quicktime movie ... it seems correct to me that google only indexes IMAGES for their IMAGE search engine.
      For lazy people here's a link to images from the site on google: http://images.google.com/images?as_st=y&&um=1&hl=en&safe=off&q=site:gulfportinflorida.com&&sa=N&start=0&ndsp=18

    2. Re:from personal experience by ahooligan · · Score: 1

      On the front page there are links, they used the one for "houses", which is why there are houses in googles photos gallery but they did not go to the "Air Polution" link which are many photos about the toxic waste generator. http://www.gulfportinflorida.com/toxic_waste/smoker_in_gulfport_fl.html

    3. Re:from personal experience by primus1024 · · Score: 1

      Ah, I stand corrected, i missed that link somehow.

    4. Re:from personal experience by ahooligan · · Score: 1

      And so how is it resolved? who do I contact to make the point, any ideas? Thanks

    5. Re:from personal experience by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you have google account you can use www.google.com/webmasters/tools/ to analyze what google sees. You can also submit your site map there to help google find all of your pages.
      I hope this helps.

  22. google is going rotten. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I find google searchs getting shittier and shittier.
    I often find myself heading to old search engines.

  23. Wrong again by jmcbain · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Are you referring to US vs. Microsoft in 1998-1999? That was with regard to Internet Explorer, not the Windows OS. Microsoft lost, and they are paying their due penalty.

    Google, on the other hand, has a much larger monopoly not just on search advertising but on information availability. Your bitter dislike of Microsoft is blinding you apparently; you'd rather fight over small fries like what browser you want use rather than fight over where you can find information and who controls it.

    1. Re:Wrong again by Inertiatia · · Score: 1

      The other point you seemed to ignore with your re-wording is the ease of switching. I can type "yahoo.com" instead of "google.com" much easier than I can install another operating system.

      Your argument is like telling people to stop complaining about gasoline engines being so dirty when they can just retrofit their car to run on something else.
      If it requires a massive investment of time or money/labor then it really isn't a "choice" as defined by any free market economist.

  24. Gatekeeper? That reminds me. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    These discussions seems curiously one-dimensional.

    Almost as if peoples comments are being rated and any unpopular opinion censored...

  25. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by Antique+Geekmeister · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Try reading the newspapers, or even searching Google for 'google censorship in China'. The top of the search shows the BBC article http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4645596.stm.

    So, in fact, China censors 'illegal material' which is a violation of UN treaties to censor in international communications. The idea of 'do no harm' is not good enough for such a large and powerful company: the idea of 'do no harm in China' by not bothering their government is in direct contrast to 'do no harm in China' by restricting the speech of those who disagree with the government.

  26. Wrong, and I dare say not for the first time today by insllvn · · Score: 1
    His point was that it is hardly the same thing. Here, I will help you out. The relevant bits are these:

    Until Google start doing things to stop people using other search engines...

    Please, tell me, what has Google done to prevent you from using Yahoo!, Ask, Alta Vista, Live, or Baidu?

  27. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by Malevolyn · · Score: 2, Insightful

    That's assuming the Chinese are allowed to disagree with their government.

    --
    Your ad here.
  28. No different from IE bundling by jmcbain · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Google has prevented me from using Yahoo!, Ask, etc. in the same vein that Microsoft prevented me from using other web browsers.

    Does Google somehow physically stop me from using other search engines? No. Did Microsoft physically stop me from downloading and using other browsers? No.

    Does Google very closely bundle their search engine with Google Docs, YouTube, Android, etc.? Yes. Did Microsoft very closely bundle IE with Windows? Yes.

    Is Google being punished for doing the same exact same thing Microsoft was found guilty of in US vs. Microsoft in 1999? No.

    1. Re:No different from IE bundling by PReDiToR · · Score: 1
      To go one step further (towards trolldom unfortunately), doesn't gOS fit the bill better than Windows did?

      gOS 3 Gadgets instantly launches Google Gadgets for Linux on startup, introducing over 100,000 possible iGoogle and Google Gadgets to the desktop.

      Google Documents, Calendar, and Mail launch in Mozilla Prism windows to closer resemble desktop applications.

      Google _everything_ links right there on the desktop.

      I'll get modded down for dissing a Linux distro, but I'm not knocking the OS, I've been running it as my primary OS for some years. Currently on Gentoo. I have installed gOS for several people.

      --

      Do not meddle in the affairs of geeks for they are subtle and quick to anger
  29. Do No Evil by FoxconnGuy · · Score: 1

    Every slashdotters know this famous slogan.

    I must say I agree that Google is doing very well so far. There are restrictions that Google is applying to some countries' users because of local gov regulations. I once asked someone in Google, she told me a *standard answer*: Google will try to provide the most info to the people in that country as possible. Agree or not, I think it is doing okay.

    But the key is, it *is* doing well. Not *will* do well. Corporates change their minds. We do not rely on their history to judge their future. (Convince me Google helped Yang when he was been kicked off if you can.)

    Like constitution which states freedom is our natural right. We need some form of protection in case of Google's mind changed or drifted.

  30. Nicole for President! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I agree with most people on this board. I think that a certain degree of censorship isn't a bad thing. Just as the media and the US Government.

  31. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Kibblet, I conclude you belong to the past.

    Or should I say that you belong to the tomorrow? Never mind - we belong to the day after tomorrow. This is the simple truth. We belong to the third millennium.

  32. Jealousy by z-j-y · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Before internet, the gatekeepers to information were powers like NY Time.

    1. Re:Jealousy by ScrewMaster · · Score: 1

      Before internet, the gatekeepers to information were powers like NY Time.

      That, actually, is what a lot of this is about. Sour grapes. Matter of fact, it applies to broadcast television as well. The Web has consumed a lot of and money that was previously spent on print/broadcast advertising, and a lot of eyeball time has been taken away from the traditional news outlets. They don't particularly like that.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
    2. Re:Jealousy by DanJ_UK · · Score: 1

      I've worked for three major broadcasters in the UK as a Senior & normal Client-Side Developer. It's not so much a dislike as more of a catch up that's taking place at such corporations in order to adapt the very vast infrastructure they have to accommodate for new technologies / the web, the only annoyances are really the timescales involved in getting vast sites built or refreshed - the more time, the more money - that's what middle and upper management dislike.

      Losing advertising revenue is inevitable as new advertising platforms emerge / change, to be honest though most broadcasters are either in the process of, or currently do offer some form of online on-demand / live services now (BBC iPlayer, 4oD, Sky Online), all of which utilise some form of DRM to protect and allow advertising to be implemented within the content, should they choose to.

      --
      - Dan
  33. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by Baldur_of_Asgard · · Score: 1

    Thanks for the comment. As a long-time poster at GC and at /. (under another name) I'm glad to see this here.

    Legally, if Google wants to censor the internet, that's fine. But ethically, this is a problem because Google bills itself as an ethical company, and simply de-listing sites like annabelleigh.com and gc.glgarden.com (as are currently de-listed), and http://www.inquisition21.com/ (as it did for about a year) is rather problematic for a company whose motto is "Don't be evil."

    While it is Google's right to be evil as long as it is lawfully evil, it is important that the broader public should be aware that Google is censoring what they see of the world. Regardless of whether you support or oppose us in our struggle for basic civil rights, you should be quite upset that Google is restricting your ability to discover the facts for yourselves, by presenting you with only one side (the bigoted side, as it happens) of the argument. What should also concern you is that you don't know what ELSE Google might be censoring. I don't know either.

    I have taken lately to using several search engines, whereas previously I had pretty much just used Google. Google used to have a good product, but now they've gone the way of Micro$oft.

  34. sure you could by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Two two-person teams for each data center. One long range mortar (like the Mistral 81, ~ 4 miles range) per team. Initial firing rate of 2/minute (gives time to adjust fall, then fire for effect) with say 5 minutes of fire at 10 rounds per minute gives around a hundred rounds on/near target. No time for counterbattery fire. Presto, Google is 404'ed. Think it couldn't be done? Really? All it takes is a modest amount of money (long range mortars aren't scarce), training (mortar rounds are plentiful and cheap), and dedication (Jihaaaadd!!!).

  35. wait, by uxbn_kuribo · · Score: 1

    Wasn't Microsoft penalized not just for the linking of IE to Windows, but specifically because they had been told not to do so?

    --
    No portion of this post may be rebroadcast without the express, written consent of Major League Baseball.
  36. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by moderatorrater · · Score: 3, Insightful

    90% of the people in this country will tell you that www.annabelleigh.net crosses the line. I'm guessing over 50% will have a strong reaction against it and would prefer that Google make sure it doesn't come up in their search results. So, you can see it as Google repressing a very small portion of the population, or you can see it as Google's doing the rest of us a big favor.

  37. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by kdemetter · · Score: 1

    While you may have a point about religion often being used as an excuse to commit crimes , censoring it won't solve the problem.

    Blaming it on slashdot won't get you any good karma either.

    And what do you mean with "progressive" slashdot. Sure , we all like technology and new things , but apart from that , our political views are very different.

  38. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So, you can see it as Google repressing a very small portion of the population, or you can see it as Google's doing the rest of us a big favor.

    Isn't that the standard definition of repression? Mistreat one group for the benefit, sometimes completely intangible benefit, of another?

    --
    When information is power, privacy is freedom.
  39. Before you call choice on the Do Evil company.... by sethstorm · · Score: 1

    ...consider that they are only a practical choice given the conditions. While other choices may exist, undue force (equivalent to but not from a gun) goes their way.

    So what is the big deal? Google censors some things, don't like it? Go to one of the thousands of other search engines.

    Seriously, censorship is bad but this is the internet, not the government-regulated airspace, there is no FCC, it is --

    That does not excuse a lack of accountability to the US government. Giving a private entity a shield from it is asking for trouble. No, anything related to markets does not count as accountability. Regulation is accountability.

    I must say I agree that Google is doing very well so far. There are restrictions that Google is applying to some countries' users because of local gov regulations. I once asked someone in Google, she told me a *standard answer*: Google will try to provide the most info to the people in that country as possible.

    That's a non-answer since their stock structure prevents any meaningful dissent. Perhaps it would mean something if one could use that to pull them out forcibly. Otherwise it is up to regulation to do so.

    But the key is, it *is* doing well. Not *will* do well. Corporates change their minds. We do not rely on their history to judge their future. (Convince me Google helped Yang when he was been kicked off if you can.)

    Well, I guess you love Google's version of the Jonestown kool-aid.

    --
    Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
  40. On accountability by sethstorm · · Score: 1

    Honestly, I'm surprised the United States hasn't declared Google (and other major internet pieces) a national security asset and moved to place it under government protection.

    Perhaps it should go the other way and make them accountable to the citizens of the US. That means they can't have multiclass shares to stifle dissent and prevent accountability.

    --
    Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
  41. Here's an idea by dontmakemethink · · Score: 1

    'it's hard to do good, and to gather data in ways that don't raise privacy concerns or that might help repressive governments to block controversial content.'"

    Actually it's pretty easy. Just be a search engine and generate revenues though benign info spidering. They've got it. The second they let politics in, it's over. That would be like traffic lights turning green for BMW's. It just won't work out in the end.

    --

    War as we knew it was obsolete
    Nothing could beat complete denial
    - Emily Haines
  42. Politics entered when they dealt with China. by sethstorm · · Score: 1

    That would be like traffic lights turning green for BMW's.

    ...or bowing to a country instead of actively encouraging it to change.

    --
    Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
  43. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So why don't you tell me your political position do you :

    a) allow muslims to carry out their religion, including childrape
    b) forbid muslims carrying out their religion

    Every last muslim institution agrees that childrape is allowed (and the taliban consider it mandatory, and the shi'a muslims consider that the primary duty of a father is to get his daughters raped before they turn 12*).

    * amongst many other references : The little green book, Sayings of Ayatollah Khomeini, Political, Phylosophica, Social and Religious with a special introduction by Clive Irving, ISBN number 0-553-14032-9, page 47

    So which is it ? Do you allow islamic childrape or do you forbid muslims carrying out their religion ?

  44. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by Brian+Ribbon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "90% of the people in this country will tell you that www.annabelleigh.net crosses the line. I'm guessing over 50% will have a strong reaction against it and would prefer that Google make sure it doesn't come up in their search results."

    It doesn't cross a legal line, so presumably you are referrring to a "moral" line. When you begin to moralise the internet, who can say where or when the resultant censorship will end?

    "So, you can see it as Google repressing a very small portion of the population, or you can see it as Google's doing the rest of us a big favor."

    Google is not doing a "big favor" for anyone. Censoring controversial material doesn't help readers; it simply makes them ignorant.

    --
    "To the future or to the past, to a time when thought is free" ~ Nineteen Eighty-Four
  45. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by Brian+Ribbon · · Score: 1

    "What the fuck? And you're surprised this crap is blacklisted?"

    Maybe you could explain why you wish for a legal discussion forum for paedophiles to be censored. It is not a "how-to-molest-children" forum, it is not a place for exchanging illegal material, it is simply a place where people who are attracted to girls can discuss their feelings.

    If someone is isolated from their community, has nowhere to turn for support and has nothing to lose, they are less likely to care about consequences (for themselves or others) than if they have a community. Your support of the censorship of places where paedophiles can form a community and receive emotional support is therefore rather thoughtless.

    Most paedophiles do not commit offences against children, but oppression and hatred will only increase the probability of a person becoming dangerous.

    --
    "To the future or to the past, to a time when thought is free" ~ Nineteen Eighty-Four
  46. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can't imaging what line the 90% feel is being crossed. Maybe the 'I don't want to have to see or think about anything that makes me uncomfortable, I just want to continue to live in my insular little world and pretend that everyone is just like me' line? I guess I take the 'Google repressing' stance, not the doing a favor stance. Oh Well.

  47. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by LingNoi · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why is it up to Google to do the work of the United Nations?

    Google is a company just like any other, they have to operate within the law wherever they operate.

    Not censoring a youtube video almost had Google employees arrested in Thailand until the bowed to pressure and deleted the lamest movie on YT with like 20 views. Governments have Google by the balls not the other way around.

    I suggest you reassess your opinion of how much influence Google holds over governments because you'll find it's almost nothing, if any at all.

  48. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If they are not discussing the relevant topic at hand (i.e., young children), then this is behavior they could engage in from any location, obviating the 'need' for a community dedicated to pedophiles.

    On the other hand, if they are discussing the topic at hand, this sort of site should be closed.

    Consequently, depending on what goes on there, the forum is either pointless or harmful.

  49. crossing lines by Baldur_of_Asgard · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    How would 90% of the people know whether this site crosses any lines, if their searches - which they believe are exhaustive - simply skip over relevant matter?

    Why doesn't google censor white supremacy - or even black supremacy - sites? 90% of Americans would probably think that those sites cross a line, too, but fortunately most would oppose de-listing these sites, because they want people to see these people as the slime they are.

    There's no need to censor unattractive ideologies. The best response to white supremacy speech or Neo-Nazi speech is to tell the truth about these ideologies and let everyone see it and its consequences. I think there are a lot of people who want to censor sites like annabelleigh.net because they know that if the public ever learned the truth, they would realize that they have been lied to by government and the media and a good deal of "charitable" organizations - all out to make a buck. The child abuse industry makes its money off the misery of children by selling unnecessary psychological counseling, by getting government funding for more police and social workers to either return child refugees to harmful home environments or to kidnap children from loving homes, gets government or "charitable" funding to relocate children - who often don't want to be relocated - to group homes or "boot camps" or into any number of torture regimes, and of course gets government funding for more prisons and prison guards. There are a LOT of people with financial interests in making sure that the truth is not known, and in repressing child lovers who are actually interested in what children want, rather than in imposing their will on children.

    The "guardians" don't have to censor bad ideas - better to let them disintegrate in the sunlight. They only need to censor good ideas that threaten their own grip on power. That's what is happening here.

  50. Moral beliefs are irrelevant by Brian+Ribbon · · Score: 1

    "If they are not discussing the relevant topic at hand (i.e., young children), then this is behavior they could engage in from any location, obviating the 'need' for a community dedicated to pedophiles."

    Have you not considered the possibility that a marginalised group may not wish to associate with the majority who want them to be imprisoned/censored merely because of what they think?

    "On the other hand, if they are discussing the topic at hand, this sort of site should be closed."

    You still haven't explained how the website is "harmful" and you haven't rebutted the positive effects which a sense of community has for a marginalised group and those who members of the marginalised group may interact with. Your moral beliefs do not negate the importance of the welfare of children and the ethical treatment of paedophiles.

    --
    "To the future or to the past, to a time when thought is free" ~ Nineteen Eighty-Four
  51. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Good then we can kill them and pass laws letting us kill them.

  52. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by neonKow · · Score: 1
    You might not agree with these people but they are not doing anything illegal on this site.

    There are far worse sites online as far as breaking the law is concerned and it is not google's duty nor place to censor it from search results.

  53. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by LingNoi · · Score: 1

    It's not censored it just doesn't show up in Google searches. That doesn't mean you still can not access the content, just that you can not find it on Google. That just means Google sucks at finding kiddy fuck stories.

    I will however tell you anyway why your outlook on this is wrong, because this question comes up a lot on slashdot and I think you need help if you can't see what's wrong with this.

    When you're part of a community or group which encourages a behaviour such as child sex via fantasy then all you're doing is encouraging that behaviour to become more common within someone's daily lives.

    The members get twisted into their own delusions into believing that this kind of behaviour is normal, at which point it escalates from not just reading child sex novels but perhaps to something more such as child pornography.

    At some point their desires transition into the real world, where other people are effected.

    The same thing goes for terrorists, alien adoptees to internet pirates. The deeper in you go the more warped your look on life becomes until you can't judge anymore that what you're doing is morally wrong.

    You consider things to be morally just. Look at that child molester in Australia, I forget the name. He never admitted doing anything wrong, because by his standards he didn't. He fantasised about having sex with children for so long that his brain just swung the moral compass right around to the point where he was deluding himself and just went ahead with having sex with children.

    I can only assume by your response to another commenter that you, yourself are undergoing this transition of moral compass swinging. You obviously see no problem in thinking about having sex with children.

    Now get it over with by telling me how wrong I am then you can go back and cry on your kiddy sex message board. I'm sure they'll tell you all about how the world "doesn't understand" and make you feel better about yourself.

  54. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by Antique+Geekmeister · · Score: 1

    But Google's policies on censorship are unfortunately unclear. They're operating, not within US, Chinese, or international law, but within whatever law they negotiate with whomever they happen to speak with. And it's not that Google holds sway over governments: they hold sway over their own company to choose to do business there or not, and to follow such policies or not. If we're going to trust Google as a source of the world's Internet knowledge, we need to hold them to a very high standard of non-censorship, or that information will become even more filtered and corrupted than it already is.

  55. Good point but it requires a counterpoint by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You raise some good issues about people losing their moral compass.

    However, you miss the counterpoint:

    For some individuals, groups like these may fill the emotional void in their lives so they do not have to seek it through pornography or sex with minors.

    I've been monitoring annabelleigh.net and similar web sites for years and I've seen both the good and the bad. Such groups have steered some people on a path to prison, turning some innocent children into victims. It's steered others away from prison - some would-be victims were never victimized. It close enough to break-even to say which way the scale tips on balance with annabelleigh.net, but it's certainly not overwhelmingly one way or the other.

    Even if it were true that such sites did zero good and caused a lot of harm, the right response is not to make them invisible in search engines. Google doesn't do it with neo-Nazi web sites and they shouldn't do it with these types of web sites.

    The right response is to fight free speech with free speech, and create web sites which point what these sites are all about and get those sites to "naturally" rank higher in search engine results for popular search terms.

    As a point of interest, similar web site, boychat.org, is not blacklisted by Google.

  56. Gatekeepers are a myth by pizzap · · Score: 1

    The importance of search engines as gatekeepers is mostly exaggerated.

  57. Re:They blacklist sites without checking the reaso by LingNoi · · Score: 1

    sway over their own company to choose to do business there or not, and to follow such policies or not.

    So denying a country 99% of useful information because Google can't give them that 1% of information they probably didn't want or could get anyway isn't evil to you?

    Lets not forget that it's you that finds censorship wrong, not the people of the country in question.

  58. So are you a peadophile, or do you bait them? by Nick+Ives · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Those are the only two groups posting at that site. From the content of your post I'd hazard you're a paedophile.

    --
    Nick
    1. Re:So are you a peadophile, or do you bait them? by Baldur_of_Asgard · · Score: 1

      Good guess. It's no secret.

    2. Re:So are you a peadophile, or do you bait them? by Nick+Ives · · Score: 1

      Just making certain, with things like this it's best to be crystal clear. I knew I'd get modded flamebait for that comment from some stupid arse who clearly didn't read your post.

      Anyway, after actually considering this I'm going to support your right to free speech. Tbh, making those sorts of statements in public should be enough to get a surveillance warrant (in much the same way as admitting any crime should be enough to allow the police to start watching you) so I guess paedophiles at forums like that are at least out in the open.

      As to whether Google should index your site, well, Google is a private company and is free to do whatever they want. I support them in their no-platform policy for paedophiles and actually wish they would take a stance on more issues, e.g. violent fascism (which they already block in Germany due to the law there). Sure, you've got your right to free speech; nobody should be stopping you posting your protected speech on the web. That doesn't mean that anyone has to support you though, it's also right that companies like Google and other organisations should take a stand against you. In fact this shows Google is an ethical company, just their ethics are different than yours.

      Even though there's no prohibition against what you're saying, Google is taking a stand against you and that's something everyone who isn't a paedophile rightfully supports. I mean, civil rights? The right to bone tiny little girls?

      It's not bigoted to oppose that.

      --
      Nick
    3. Re:So are you a peadophile, or do you bait them? by Brian+Ribbon · · Score: 1

      "Tbh, making those sorts of statements in public should be enough to get a surveillance warrant (in much the same way as admitting any crime should be enough to allow the police to start watching you) so I guess paedophiles at forums like that are at least out in the open."

      Paedophilia (a sexual attraction to pre-pubescent children) is not a crime, nor is it a reliable indicator of crime, so a surveillance warrant is not justified. I wouldn't be surprised if some authorities monitor the website illegally, as some authorities harass non-offending paedophiles in real life without having reasonable suspicion, but you are wrong to assume that the authorities are legally (or ethically) justified in monitoring people purely on the basis of their sexuality.

      "it's also right that companies like Google and other organisations should take a stand against you. In fact this shows Google is an ethical company, just their ethics are different than yours."

      The belief that someone should be censored for expressing offensive opinions is a moral belief, not an ethical belief; censoring speech does not protect anyone, it simply prevents them feeling uneasy or offended.

      Furthermore, many people posting at Annabelleigh do not advocate the legalisation of adults having sex with children; should they also be censored when they are not harming anyone or even advocating the legalisation of harmful behaviour?

      "I mean, civil rights? The right to bone tiny little girls? It's not bigoted to oppose that."

      It's not bigoted to oppose that, but it's ignorant to assume that the majority of paedophiles actually want to do that.

      --
      "To the future or to the past, to a time when thought is free" ~ Nineteen Eighty-Four
    4. Re:So are you a peadophile, or do you bait them? by Nick+Ives · · Score: 1

      Paedophilia (a sexual attraction to pre-pubescent children) ... It's not bigoted to oppose that, but it's ignorant to assume that the majority of paedophiles actually want to do that.

      OK, so maybe boys too. That's what paedophilia is about, unless you want to change its definition to mean something other than sex with children. I think that's what most people understand a paedophile to be and trying to change the definition of that word, well, I reckon it'd be a teensy bit harder than rehabilitating the word hacker.

      Honestly though, you use it in its commonly accepted form right at the start of your reply indicating that you understand it to mean that. How do you square the circle of being sexually attracted to children whilst saying a paedophile doesn't really want to do it? It rather sounds like saying the majority of gay men don't really want to have sex with other men.

      I'm really trying to understand what you're saying but it really doesn't compute. That site is full of descriptions of little girls in overtly sexualised language. Just click on some of those thanksgiving posts and it's all stories about how the paedo in question spent the holiday oogling little girls. Also within a few clicks are classic arguments about how animals fuck their young so it's OK for humans too.

      I appreciate that a lot of paedophiles don't actually make contact with children and instead stick to images and fantasy, (methinks that's where you're coming from) but I'm sure you appreciate that there's something fundamentally broken about that outlook. You're condemning yourself to a life of permanent sexual frustration as you're placing your ultimate fantasy out of reach. Is that really what you want? Don't you want a strong intelligent woman who can be at least your equal or maybe even your better?

      I'm an uncle, three nephews and a niece. Whenever I'm around them and their friends I'm the cool twenty-something uncle with all the latest games and cool music from people and clubs they've never heard of. Obviously that means some of their little female friends flirt and try to act older than they are because that's how kids are, but to actually take advantage of that, that'd just be weird.

      So yea, you and your subculture: weeeeeeeeeeeeird.

      --
      Nick
    5. Re:So are you a peadophile, or do you bait them? by badkarmadayaccount · · Score: 1

      So yea, you and your subculture: weeeeeeeeeeeeird.

      You, sir, owe me a new wall.

      --
      I know tobacco is bad for you, so I smoke weed with crack.
  59. Citations needed by Brian+Ribbon · · Score: 1

    "When you're part of a community or group which encourages a behaviour such as child sex via fantasy then all you're doing is encouraging that behaviour to become more common within someone's daily lives."

    The community doesn't encourage people to engage in child sex, whether through fantasy or in real life. Paedophiles will, however, fantasise about sex with children regardless of external factors, so the communities in which we participate are irrelevant in that respect. Although such communities don't encourage illegal behaviour - meaning that your argument has failed - the idea of paedophilia (an attraction, not a behaviour) becoming a central feature of the life of someone with a paedophilic orientation is very relevant. The reason why paedophilia may become a central feature of a paedophile's life is because of the insane public obsession over paedophiles; society treats a paedophile as having an identity comprised purely of sexual urges. More disturbing is the assumption that all paedophiles will offend and are unable to control their "monstrous" urges. The latter may have a dangerous effect on some paedophiles, though I personally treat the assumption as the bullshit which it is.

    "The members get twisted into their own delusions into believing that this kind of behaviour is normal, at which point it escalates from not just reading child sex novels but perhaps to something more such as child pornography."

    You're conflating behaviour with fantasy; don't underestimate the ethical, social and legal barriers between the two. I would like to point out that the website in question is not a repository of sex stories, it's a discussion board. You clearly haven't even read the website which we're discussing.

    Furthermore, I question your assumption that viewing child pornography is harmful (though I feel it should be avoided for legal reasons). Child pornography is created for the purpose of profit and trade, not for people who view freely available images. The suggestion that viewing freely available images encourages producers of child pornography is like suggesting that downloading free music helps the recording industry. The recording industry doesn't like their music to be freely downloaded (hence the outrageous lawsuits), so it is ridiculous to assume that the child pornography industry wishes for their images to be viewed without purchase. Simply viewing child pornography is not harmful, although I would second an argument that paying for abusive child pornography is harmful.

    You should also consider the nature of child pornography.

    "At some point their desires transition into the real world, where other people are effected."

    Where is your evidence for this? You may be able to provide random cases of this happening, but there is no evidence of this happening to the majority of paedophiles, or even to a significant minority of paedophiles.

    "You consider things to be morally just."

    I believe in ethics (which is one of many barriers between fantasy and reality), however I have never subscribed to moralism. Moralism is a selfish concept which is concerned purely with pushing one's own beliefs and instincts onto others.

    "Look at that child molester in Australia, I forget the name. He never admitted doing anything wrong, because by his standards he didn't. He fantasised about having sex with children for so long that his brain just swung the moral compass right around to the point where he was deluding himself and just went ahead with having sex with children."

    How can you possibly know why he abused children?

    A study published by the British Psychological Society found that "fantasy deficit may be involved in contact offending against children" (Sheldon & Howitt, 2008). The study compared paedophilic non-contact child sex offenders with paedophilic contact child sex offenders. It suggested that paedop

    --
    "To the future or to the past, to a time when thought is free" ~ Nineteen Eighty-Four
  60. Gatekeeper? How about stopping the spam? by shanen · · Score: 1

    Typical for the current mental state of /. Apparently only a single mention of "spam" and in an irrelevant sense.

    Wouldn't it be nice if Google would use their so-called gatekeeper status to discourage spammers? Many options and many points of attack, but I'll just mention the nuclear one that is most convenient for Google: If an webhosting persists in spammer-friendly policies, then Google can stop indexing *ALL* of the websites hosted by that webhost. (Actually, even that wouldn't be sufficient for a webhosting service that only served spammers and had no legitimate customers--but it would be a good starting point.)

    What I can't understand is how Google thinks they can compete with free. The spammers so-called advertising is "free" from Google's perspective, but it only destroys the value of all Web-based advertising, including the advertising that is supposed to sustain Google over the longer term.

    --
    Freedom = (Meaningful - Coerced) Choice != (Speech | Beer^2), and sad sock puppets' bad mods avail them naught.
  61. Double fail by Baldur_of_Asgard · · Score: 1

    (1) You mischaracterize the site. You obviously did not look at it. All your arguments are based on false premises.

    (2) As multiple studies have affirmed, most child abuse, sexual or otherwise, is NOT committed by pedophiles, even on a per capita basis. Also, there is no good evidence for the "progression" scenario, and in fact there is more evidence that pornography - child or otherwise - actually reduces sexual assaults when it is legal and easily available. Again, all your arguments are based on false premises.

    So, you fail.

    It's about what we expect from antis, however. We get this sort of nonsense all the time.

  62. If that's the case, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    why, then, does google not censor www.boychat.org or www.boylover.net?

    Why, also, do they allow anti-pedo vigilante sites to flourish on their blogger website when vigilanism is illegal? Why do they not censor www.pervertedjustice.com, a blatant vigilante site that hosts forums that openly discuss illegal vigilante activities against any who dare to disagree with them, including innocent persons being labeled publicly and falsely as pedophiles, and also contains very sexually explicit images (some of them of minors under 18) and chat logs from their stings? PJ also host and maintain the wikisposure website that contains much blatantly false and misleading information.

    Why do you see no problem with them censoring a website which is carefully kept entirely within legal bounds, but have no problem with them not censoring websites that are "crossing the line" into illegal activities?

    Either we have free speech within legal bounds applied equally to both sides of every argument, or we censor everything that somebody, somewhere raises an objection to.

  63. Google's response by BeanThere · · Score: 1

    Google doesn't "block" anything, they can't prevent you from accessing a site, they can simply fail to point you to a site. Exactly what would make these people happy? If Google responded with a new search algorithm that did away with PageRank and displayed all results on a page in random order every time? That would make the Internet better, yay. Anything less would surely be called "censorship" by someone. Is Google obligated to point you to every single possible site? If Google, then why not have everyone who has a web page at all be required to link to every other site on the Internet? I suppose on my personal page by only linking to a few dozen sites I am "censoring" the rest of the Internet too.