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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.'"

15 of 154 comments (clear)

  1. Re:FUCK Your WAR. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...thus began this Anon's War on War

  2. He's a moron by cellocgw · · Score: 5, Funny

    And so is anyone who accepts the proffered autocomplete options without thinking about what he wants to search for.

    On the other hand, here's an opportunity for GoogleClippy. "It looks like you're searching for illegal drugs online. How can I help you with that?"

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    1. Re:He's a moron by interkin3tic · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Perhaps the best way to get society to demand the war on drugs end is to prosecute the middle and upper class like we do the lower class. Lock up people who abuse prescription drugs, and lawyers who do coke, and throw away the key. The public is slowly admitting that maybe pot isn't that bad, but they don't feel strongly enough about it because no one they know is fucked over for victimless crimes.

  3. The new front... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The new front in the war on drugs: minor inconvenience. Take that, drugs!

  4. Danger! by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A government official is looking for a moral crusade to fill his time and justify his paycheck. Mississippi Jim, on patrol!

    1. Re:Danger! by Trepidity · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Maybe he's angry about his own autocomplete results,

      Why is Jim Hood...

      Why is Jim Hood still in jail

      Why is Jim Hood a democrat

      Why is Jim Hood a republican

  5. Strange, if you type in "Douchebags" . . . by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 5, Funny

    . . . it auto-completes with "The National Association of Attorneys General" . . .

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  6. blame this guy by Valen1260 · · Score: 5, Funny
  7. Re:wasteful by gstoddart · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why try to stop people from searching for something they are searching for anyway?

    Because they believe that Google should be at the front line of essentially censoring the internet to only return things they feel are 'acceptable'.

    The government can't censor you (yet), but if they can strong-arm a company into doing it for them, it must be OK, right?

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  8. Re:FUCK Your WAR. by interkin3tic · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well, I was going to invite you to my annual "worldwide slashdotter tug of war" competition, but now I'm not sure I'll even host it again this year.

  9. They should know by now by king+neckbeard · · Score: 5, Insightful

    When you do something small and nice for a group of assholes, be it the government or the RIAA or whomever, then you set the expectation for that as the bare minimum across the board. There's no gratitude, they'll only say that you aren't doing enough. The second they started censoring autocomplete, it was an inevitability that crap like this would happen.

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  10. Drugs will... by Darkness404 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Drugs will fuck up your life kid, so if we ever catch you using, buying and selling them we'll kidnap you and throw you in a cage and fuck up you and your family's lives.

    Typical politics.

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  11. down the rabbit hole we go by nimbius · · Score: 5, Funny

    other nefarious and dastardly plots these brave attorneys have uncovered:
    1. an image search for 'boobies' using google image search can and will display, actual breasts.
    2. Google translate can and will translate nearly a dozen highly offensive english words into any of more than 20 different languages.
    3. a youtube search for 'collateral murder' will produce a video of american soldiers murdering journalists in iraq.
    4. Google searches for the phrases "edward snowden" or "Julian Assange" provides shockingly inappropriate, unbiased information pertaining to united states foreign and domestic policy.
    5. despite dire and repeated warnings by their trustworthy IT staff, google will in fact let you google the word 'google' without any safeguard for the catastrophic consequences that ensue.
    6. despite providing readily available search results for filthy pill junkies, google search raises the ire of attorneys around the globe as it fails to provide a reliable and affordable source of high quality pure columbian cocaine for todays savvy litigators and high powered firms.

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  12. Strange, if you type in "I am"... by Iniamyen · · Score: 5, Funny

    It auto-completes with "gullible"...

  13. Autostop reading by paiute · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I got as far as "Mississippi Attorney General" and stopped reading, because I knew what followed would simultaneously knock points off my IQ and make me weep for the lost potential of a once-sentient species.

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