Censorship by Google is Google's removal or omission of information from its services or those of its subsidiary companies, such as YouTube, in order to comply with its company policies, legal demands, or various government censorship laws.[1]
In February 2003, Google stopped showing the advertisements of Oceana, a non-profit organization protesting a major cruise ship operation's sewage treatment practices. Google cited its editorial policy at the time, stating "Google does not accept advertising if the ad or site advocates against other individuals, groups, or organizations."[2] The policy was later changed.[3]
In April 2008, Google refused to run ads for a UK Christian group opposed to abortion, explaining that "At this time, Google policy does not permit the advertisement of websites that contain 'abortion and religion-related content.'"[4]
In April 2014, though Google accepts ads from the pro-choice abortion lobbying group NARAL, they have removed ads for some anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers. Google removed the Web search ads after an investigation by NARAL found evidence that the ads violate Google's policy against deceptive advertising. According to NARAL, people using Google to search for "abortion clinics" got ads advertising crisis pregnancy centers that were in fact anti-abortion. Google said in a statement that it had followed normal company procedures in applying its ad policy standards related to ad relevance, clarity, and accuracy in this case.[5][6]
In early 2006, Google removed several news sites from its news search engine due to hate speech stating that, "We do not allow articles and sources expressly promoting hate speech viewpoints in Google News, although referencing hate speech for commentary and analysis is acceptable". The sites removed from Google News remain accessible from Google's main search page as normal.[7][8][9]
In March 2007, allegedly lower resolution satellite imagery on Google Maps showing post-Hurricane Katrina damage in the U.S. state of Louisiana was replaced with higher resolution images from before the storm.[10] Google's official blog of April revealed that the imagery was still available in KML format on Google Earth or Google Maps.[11][12]
In March 2008, Google removed street view and 360 degree images of military bases per the Pentagon's request.[13]
To protect the privacy and anonymity of individuals Google Street View in Google Maps and Google Earth shows photographs containing car license number plates and people's faces by blurring them. Users may request further blurring of images that feature the user, their family, their car or their home. Users can also request the removal of images that feature inappropriate content.[14] In some countries (e.g. Germany) it modifies images of specific buildings.[15] In the United States, Google Street View adjusts or omits certain images deemed of interest to national security by the federal government.[13]
As of May 2013, Google Play forbids AT&T users from downloading Open Garden, a wireless mesh network platform, which it lists as "incompatible" at the request of the carrier.
On 12 December 2012, Google removed the option to turn off the SafeSearch image filter entirely, forcing users to enter more specific search queries to get adult content.[16][17][18]
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