Google lifts ban on anti-abortion ads after legal threat

[potentialgeek]

[technology.timesonline.co.uk...]

I'm shocked that Google ever had a ban on anything related to free speech.

Is there anything else it bans (other than criminal/miracle cures), i.e., free speech issues, not commercial products and services?

p/g

[vincevincevince]

I'm shocked that Google ever had a ban on anything related to free speech.

...clip clop... clip clop.... (trotting out)... "free speech in the US does not extend to the private sector ...

The catch here was the UK law, and specifically relating to discrimination. It's not that they were impeding free speech so much as they were allegedly discriminating.

_{They do stifle the promotion of the health giving effects of beer despite it being proven, by university research, to be more healthy than water.}

[Lame_Wolf]

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System: The following 3 messages were spliced on to this thread from: http://www.webmasterworld.com/google_adwords/3747184.htm [webmasterworld.com] by jatar_k - 11:16 am on Sep. 18, 2008 (est -4)

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Google is to change its policy on adverts about abortion following a legal challenge from a Christian pressure group.

It had refused a Christian Institute advert, saying it did not allow the advertising of websites with "abortion and religion-related content".

The institute threatened to use British equality laws to contest the decision.

But after an out-of-court settlement, Google will now allow religious groups to advertise about abortion.

It means when the word "abortion" is typed into the search engine, internet users will no longer just see adverts with details of abortion clinics and support groups, but could also find links to religious groups which may oppose abortion.

[jatar_k]

[abcnews.go.com...]
[news.bbc.co.uk...]

[vincevincevince]

A key point here is that this is Adwords, and not SERPs. The SERPs themselves are reasonably balanced, at least in the UK results.

It is unclear whether websites promoting abortion but not selling it as a service were previously permitted. I do see one such site there at present but it may have been added post-decision.

Without getting into the ethics of the issue, if the abortion promotion information site was permitted but not the abortion dissuasion site, then it does seem that this is moving from a biased to a neutral stance on Google's part.

_{I do hope moderators watch this thread like a hawk}