Latest Target In War On Drugs: Google Autocomplete

netbuzz writes "The National Association of Attorneys General met in Boston this week and one panel focused on the 'safe harbor' provision of 1996 Communications Decency Act. Within that broader discussion, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood cited the autocomplete feature in Google search as evidence the company has more control over content than it contends. 'We know they manipulate the autocomplete feature,' Hood said, with his point being that there should be more such manipulation, not less. His primary example: a search on 'prescription drugs online' presents an autocomplete suggestion of 'prescription drugs online without a prescription.'"

Comments

but...that's...not how it works...

[dAzED1]

If a lot of people that started a search with "prescription drugs online" were searching for "prescription drugs online unicorns riding gorillas wearing purple napkin trampoline" then that is what autocomplete would suggest. Bloody hell, it's not like someone at Google is manually creating "suggestions" for people...

Re:He's a moron

[interkin3tic]

At least it sounds like he's focusing on drug abuse that traditionally gets ignored.

"Pot and crack? Yes, lock all of them up, those criminal scum.

Oxycodone and hydrocodone? Hey man, sitting on your fat ass in a chair and blabbing about how liberals are destroying society all day is tough. Rush NEEDS those pain pills. That shouldn't be jail time!"

Re:google this

[jeffmeden]

In general the answer is no. Courtesy of a general counsel briefing on ACP:

Communications in the Presence of a Third Party

The privilege extends only to communications that the client intends to be confidential. Communications made in non-private settings, or in the presence of third persons unnecessary to accomplish the purpose for which the attorney was consulted, are not confidential and are not protected by the privilege.

Re:google this

[icebike]

I've never googled Pirate Bay on this account. Until now.
Yet as soon as I entered the word Pirate the second auto-complete was for thepiratebay.se (which led to a different site altogether).

Some things are forcibly excluded from search results by various laws in various places, so it might not work for me but would work for someone else.

Still, that is the "legally mandated exclusive case", but that wouldn't explain or refute the "crowd sourced inclusive case".