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Court Rules Search Engines can Censor Results
Should censoring search engine results on the internet be protected as free speech? A U.S. court ruled the Constitution ensures the right to block news stories. China’s most popular search engine, Baidu, also operates in the United States. Even in America, the Website does not return results related to pro-democracy groups in China.
Eight pro-democracy advocates in the United States sued the company. They claimed the policy illegally violated their right to free speech. The group sued managers of Baidu for 16 million dollars.
Jesse Furman, a U.S. district judge, ruled the First Amendment protects the censoring of search results.
In his ruling, the judge wrote “The First Amendment protects Baidu’s right to advocate for systems of government other than democracy (in China or elsewhere) just as surely as it protects plaintiffs’ rights to advocate for democracy.” (1)
Furman compared search engines to newspapers. In the ruling, the judge compared censoring of results to an editor deciding which stories to run. Those who brought the suit in May 2011 claim search engines are similar to town squares, where everyone is allowed to speak freely.
In March 2010, Google started to remove its services from China, saying the government there made extraordinary censorship demands. The world’s most-populated country has also censored Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Stephen Preziosi, who represented the plaintiffs, said, “The court has laid out a perfect paradox: That it will allow the suppression of free speech, in the name of free speech.”
This ruling also extends to American search engines, who could alter results produced by their applications in order to suit political purposes.
The plaintiffs plan to appeal the ruling.
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