Google to Censor Firearms from Shopping Results

[Paslode]

Save me from myself....

Snip:

There are some very unsettling things coming from Google this week. If you do a shopping search for firearms-related products using Google, you will now get back nothing. Google is censoring their results for firearms and ammunition. This will effectively put an end to an era of ease when comparing gun prices from different merchants. Customers will now have to research their firearms purchases manually at individual websites. Google has made great strides in the past on eliminating Internet censorship, but the California-based company seems to have it in for the firearms industry—and they are not alone.

http://cheaperthandirt.com/blog/?p=2...oglecensorship

[DIYPatriot]

I shouldn't be surprised that Google did this, but damn, I sort of am. I just did a Bing search for 1911's and they reported gun prices much like Google previously did. Hopefully, they don't pander to the anti-2A crowd.

[Sigaba]

Since when is private company making a decision to comply with the law "censorship" or "pandering"?

As Google puts it here, "We've created this policy to comply with legal regulations."

The blogosphere is going to be the end of us all.

[Roguish Lawyer]

Originally Posted by Sigaba

Since when is private company making a decision to comply with the law "censorship" or "pandering"?

As Google puts it here, "We've created this policy to comply with legal regulations."

The blogosphere is going to be the end of us all.

You've linked to the ad policy, not a policy concerning Google searches. Different part of the company.

[Sigaba]

Originally Posted by Roguish Lawyer

You've linked to the ad policy, not a policy concerning Google searches. Different part of the company.

The full blog post linked in the OP centers around advertising.

[Roguish Lawyer]

Originally Posted by Sigaba

The full blog post linked in the OP centers around advertising.

The part about Google claims that they are censoring search results. Google ads is a part of the company separate from the part that does the Google search results.

[MR2]

Originally Posted by Sigaba

Since when is private company making a decision to comply with the law "censorship" or "pandering"?

1. Comply with what law?

2. When said service constitutes a monopoly or near-monopoly.

[JJ_BPK]

I just tried:

• "m16 parts cheaper than dirt" 66K+ results..
• "WTS Machine Gun parts" 178K results..
• "companies THAT SELL Machine Guns".. 193M results..

There were no AD's on the right column, but plenty of hits in the results..

[Paslode]

Originally Posted by JJ_BPK

I just tried:

• "m16 parts cheaper than dirt" 66K+ results..
• "WTS Machine Gun parts" 178K results..
• "companies THAT SELL Machine Guns".. 193M results..

There were no AD's on the right column, but plenty of hits in the results..

That is plenty of hits, but CTD may have a point when you consider this:


'Sex Toys' About 95,700,000 results (0.23 seconds) with Ads

'Dildo' About 292,000,000 results (0.20 seconds) with Ad's

'Erotic City' About 9,330,000 results (0.18 seconds) with AD and PIC's

[DIYPatriot]

Originally Posted by JJ_BPK

I just tried:

• "m16 parts cheaper than dirt" 66K+ results..
• "WTS Machine Gun parts" 178K results..
• "companies THAT SELL Machine Guns".. 193M results..

There were no AD's on the right column, but plenty of hits in the results..

I saw similar hits, too. However, in the past I could enter "Kimber 1911 Ultra Carry II" and then click on "Shopping" to view a search of shopping results where I could compare prices, sort by price, relevancy, etc. That feature is no longer available with Google's search engine. It is still available with other search providers.