GOOGLE MEMO 'CONFIRMS WORST FEAR' OF CONSERVATIVES, Tech
giant in 'censorship business and apparently the lying business', by Art Moore,
10/10/18, WND.
News of a leaked
internal Google report indicating tech companies intend to censor web content
as editors and publishers in response to a political resurgence from the right
“confirms our worst fear,” said Media Research Center President Brent Bozell.
“Contrary
to Google’s public statements and what they have said to us in private
discussions, Google is in the censorship business and apparently the lying
business as well,” he said.
Bozell
is a leader of a coalition of conservative news organizations they say Google,
Facebook, Twitter and others have engaged in censorship of conservative speech
that has drastically reduced their traffic on social media.
“We’re
going to be meeting with our coalition partners immediately and we will
announce next moves very soon,” he said.
Breitbart News obtained a copy of the internal Google
briefing, which argues
that because of factors such as the election of President Trump, the “American
tradition” of free speech on the internet is no longer viable.
Titled “The Good Censor,” the 85-page document acknowledges
that Google and other tech platforms now “control the majority of online conversations”
and have undertaken a “shift towards censorship” in response to unwelcome
political events around the world.
Last
month, Breitbart published leaked video footage that showed top executives
vowing to ensure the rise of Trump and the populist movement is just a “blip”
in history.
An
official Google source told Breitbart the document is internal research and
should not be regarded as an official company position.
The newly leaked internal document
describes unfettered free speech on the internet a
“utopian narrative” that has been “undermined” by recent political events and
“bad behavior” by users.
The
briefing contends the tech giants have been forced to mitigate the competing
values of “unmediated marketplace of ideas” vs. “well-ordered spaces for safety
and civility.”
It
distinguishes between the “American tradition,” which “prioritizes free speech” over “civility” and the “European tradition” favoring “dignity over liberty and civility over freedom.”
The
tech platforms, the briefing says, are now moving toward the European
tradition, with Google assuming a new role as the guarantor of “civility” as an
“editor” and “publisher.”
In
testimony before Congress, however, Google, Facebook and Twitter have insisted
that are neutral platforms, which make them immune from Section 230 of the
Communications Decency Act.
Breitbart
noted that while the “Good Censor” memo’s intended audience is unclear, it
obviously spent significant time and effort to produce it.
And
many of the briefing’s recommendations are now reflected in Google policy of
Google, such as the argument that tech companies will have to censor their platforms
if they want to “expand globally.”
Google is constructing a censored search
engine to gain access to
the Chinese market.
Among other points, the briefing states “users are asking if the openness of the internet should be celebrated after all” and that “free speech has become a social, economic, and political weapon.”
The
document, on page 49, accuses President Trump of spreading the “conspiracy
theory” that Google autocomplete suggestions unfairly favored Hillary Clinton
in 2016.
However, independent
research by Harvard Professor Robert
Epstein featured in the new movie “The Creepy Line” indicates Google favored Clinton
in 2016.
A
2016 Hillary Clinton supporter, Epstein in 2012 discovered the Search Engine
Manipulation Effect has the power to manipulate an individual’s opinion without
his knowledge.
Epstein
concluded, through his research, that Google and Facebook could influence an
estimated 12 million votes in this fall’s elections.
“That’s
tremendous power in the hands of two companies, and it should concern us all,
regardless of political affiliation,” he said.
The
Google briefing warns that concerns about censorship from major tech platforms
have spread beyond the right-wing media into the mainstream.
Comments
Hollywood
can have its political voice and if we don’t like it, we don’t watch their
award shows or go to their movies. But Google is how we use the internet and
that is the last bastion of free speech. We do have other search engines to
choose from and may need to begin to use these.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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