Muh Private Monopolistic Overlords: Google Schemed To Block Breitbart from Making Money on Ads

Hey, maybe those guys at AEI being paid off by Google can type us up a reason we shouldn't fear an ultrarich, ultraleft Monster Tech company which has made the American Political System its next target for acquisition.

"THE GOOD CENSOR"

An internal company briefing produced by Google and leaked exclusively to Breitbart News argues that due to a variety of factors, including the election of President Trump, the "American tradition" of free speech on the internet is no longer viable.

Despite leaked video footage showing top executives declaring their intention to ensure that the rise of Trump and the populist movement is just a “blip” in history, Google has repeatedly denied that the political bias of its employees filter into its products.

But the 85-page briefing, titled "The Good Censor," admits 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.

...

Responding to the leak, an official Google source said the document should be considered internal research, and not an official company position.

The briefing labels the ideal of unfettered free speech on the internet a "utopian narrative" that has been "undermined" by recent global events as well as "bad behavior" on the part of users. It can be read in full below.

It acknowledges that major tech platforms, including Google, Facebook and Twitter initially promised free speech to consumers. "This free speech ideal was instilled in the DNA of the Silicon Valley startups that now control the majority of our online conversations," says the document.

The briefing argues that Google, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are caught between two incompatible positions, the "unmediated marketplace of ideas" vs. "well-ordered spaces for safety and civility."

The first approach is described as a product of the "American tradition" which "prioritizes free speech for democracy, not civility." The second is described as a product of the "European tradition," which "favors dignity over liberty and civility over freedom." The briefing claims that all tech platforms are now moving toward the European tradition.

The briefing associates Google’s new role as the guarantor of "civility" with the categories of "editor" and "publisher." This is significant, given that Google, YouTube, and other tech giants publicly claim they are not publishers but rather neutral platforms-- a categorization that grants them special legal immunities under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Elsewhere in the document, Google admits that Section 230 was designed to ensure they can remain neutral platforms for free expression.

More excerpts from The Good Censor, more admissions that Google and other tech companies have become full-on media companies making peddling their own editorial line and should not have special immunity that other media companies do not, and a link to the document itself at the link.

Gee, I wonder why so few "conservative" sites are discussing this.

I'm sure Pierre Omidyar's most recent website The Bulwark will have a post on this.

AEI's blog, too. And CEI.

I really can't recommend The Creepy Line enough. It's free on Amazon Prime, or a couple of bucks to rent on Amazon if you don't have prime.

If you want a free preview, the psychologist who proved the power of Google's search-function manipulation talked to The Federalist yesterday or the day before. I haven't listened yet so I don't know if he gets into the vote manipulation study or just Google's creepy surveillance empire.

posted by Ace of Spades at 11:45 AM

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