Google, Censors Guns, Ammo and Accessories

[JDrin]

WTF?
I was trying to search for some AAC 300 Blackout goodies (No Results Found)?
So Google left China due to censoring...""Riiiiight""...

I suppose its ok for Google to disregard the 4th amendment, to censor the 2nd, ...quick question; whats so special about the 1st again?
If they censor firearms shopping, maybe firearms websites are next, or religious websites, or birth control websites. Do you really want Google censoring what you get to see?

Yeah, they can do it, BUT we don't have to patronize them anymore. There are other search engines, many of them better.


I used to use google shopping all the time for gun stuff. It was the fastest way to find in stock deals with the best pricing. If you typed in "AR15 Upper" before you would get a ton of results. Now if you type that in you find nothing.
This is all on top of all the invasive data mining and tracking that they do. F Google.

IXquick (www.ixquick.com) doesn't record your ip, doesn't load tracking cookies, doesn't data mine, and also has a proxy route to all sites that come up in searches.


Here is the story from 2 sites

http://www.gunsandammo.com/2012/06/28/g ... cessories/

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2012 ... s-results/

[doubloon]

try searching simply for "rifle" on google shopping

It's hard to believe that any self respecting pro gun site would have anything to do with google.

[CThomas]

Didn't see the word silencer or suppressor in the OP's post.
So why is it in the silencer talk section
Yeah I'm a bitch but to much of this off topic junk as of late

[doubloon]

If you search for "academy rifle" you get airgun and airsoft results but if you search for "academy remington 700" you get nothing. They won't even show things Academy sells.

If you search for Forum Post Nazi you get a picture of CThomas.

[CThomas]

doubloon your such an enabler

[JDrin]

Didn't see the word silencer or suppressor in the OP's post.
So why is it in the silencer talk section
Yeah I'm a bitch but to much of this off topic junk as of late

https://www.google.com/#hl=en&gs_nf=1&t ... 80&bih=675


there you go, did a search for "AAC silencer"... you know, a "firearm accessory" one that will soon be a no results found in no time.

[doubloon]

doubloon your such an enabler

bad to the bone

I actually didn't notice what forum it was in, I always try to start my posts in the right place but there are soooo many choices.

RT or NCB&W is where this probably belongs

[doubloon]

...
there you go, did a search for "AAC silencer"... you know, a "firearm accessory" one that will soon be a no results found in no time.

actually that shows hits

It's OK to shop for suppressors on google but not rifles

http://www.google.com/products/catalog? ... CF8Q8gIwAQ

[silencertalk]

Guys, the gun media is misrepresenting this. Google is not censoring search results on google. They simply do not sell guns and ammunition in the google shopping store, so there is no sense in listing them.

[doubloon]

I don't think they sell hand grenades either but if I search for "grenade" I get 2 pages of stuff that includes pouches, books, airsoft, coffee cups, etc.

But when I search for "rifle" or "handgun" or "holster" I get zero results ... "pistol" gets one (1) hit on a pellet pistol.

However, if I search for "rifle coffee cup" I get 2 pages of hits on gun related java transports.

So why don't they show pouches, books, airsoft, coffee cups and other rifle related items on a search for "rifle" if it's not censorship?

[PAIN]

I use the AOL browser. Their search is run by Google. Everything is fine here.

Once in a while, the AOL browser is a POS so I just open IE and search the modern way using bing.

Everybody knows how antigun AOL & Turner are. I switched to DSL years ago, I just have grown accustom to my favorites lists and don't want to switch.

[yamatitan]

I just did a crap load of searches using google. Im not seeing what you guys are. When I search rifle I get sites like gunbroker, aimsurplus, buds, etc. I searched ar15 upper and it came up with bravocompanyusa, spikes, etc. just as many results as ever. Google must have forgot to censor on my side of town.

[doubloon]

I just did a crap load of searches using google. Im not seeing what you guys are. When I search rifle I get sites like gunbroker, aimsurplus, buds, etc. I searched ar15 upper and it came up with bravocompanyusa, spikes, etc. just as many results as ever. Google must have forgot to censor on my side of town.

SHOPPING

If you select "Shopping" from the Google menu under "More" and search for "rifle" you will get no hits.

It seems their "adsense" policy extends to their shopping site.

In fact of you search in Google Shopping for "remington" you won't get a hit on Remington Electric razors but somehow the Remington 870 squeaks through.

[jt526]

Can this really be called censorship? Don't they have a right as a private company to determine what and how they show their search results? Doesn't seem they are suppressing anyone's rights, unless you posit that people have a right to have their products show up in Google shopping and the "gub'ment needs to step in and protect our rights".

The only interesting thing is that ebay has gotten lax in enforcing all this and google swings the other way? Weird.

The letter of their new terms of service:

Dear Merchant,

We're writing to let you know about some upcoming changes to the product listings you submit to Google. As we recently announced, we are starting to transition our shopping experience to a commercial model that builds on Product Listing Ads. This new shopping experience is called Google Shopping. As part of this transition, we'll begin to enforce a set of new policies for Google Shopping in the coming weeks. A new list of the allowed, restricted, and prohibited products on Google Shopping is available on our new policy page - http://www.google.com/appserve/mkt/ApI7UWRj6OCZpd.

Based on a review of the products you're currently submitting, it appears that some of the content in your Merchant Center account, HamLund Tactical, will be affected by these policy changes. In particular we found that your products may violate the following policies:

Weapons

When we make this change, Google will disapprove all of the products identified as being in violation of policies. We ask that you make any necessary changes to your feeds and/or site to comply, so that your products can continue to appear on Google Shopping.

To help you through this new set of policies and how to comply with them, we would like to give you some specific suggestions regarding the changes needed to keep your offers running on Google Shopping.

Weapons

As highlighted on our new policy page http://www.google.com/appserve/mkt/ApI7UWRj6OCZpd, in order to comply with the Google Shopping policies you need to comply first with the AdWords policies http://www.google.com/appserve/mkt/StQ08jAzM4fVtG. We do not allow the promotion or sale of weapons and any related products such as ammunitions or accessory kits on Google Shopping. In order to comply with our new policies, please remove any weapon-related products from your data feed and then re-submit your feed in the Merchant Center. For more information on this policy please visit http://www.google.com/appserve/mkt/GbBNIGHOribLzf.

We're constantly reviewing our policies, and updating them when necessary, to ensure we're offering the best experience possible to our users. We've identified a set of policy principles to govern our policy efforts on Google Shopping in the U.S. These principles are:

1) Google Shopping should provide a positive experience to users. Showing users the right products at the right time can truly enhance a user's experience. When people trust us to deliver them to a destination that's relevant, original, and easy to navigate this creates a positive online experience to the benefit of both users and merchants.

2 ) Google Shopping should be safe for all users. User safety is everyone's business, and we can't do business with those who don't agree. Scams, phishing, viruses, and other malicious activities on the Internet damage the value of the Internet for everyone. Trying to get around policies or "game the system" is unfair to our users, and we can't allow that.

3) Google Shopping should comply with local laws and regulations. Many products and services are regulated by law, which can vary from country to country. All advertising, as well as the products and services being advertised, must clearly comply with all applicable laws and regulations. For the most part, our policies aren't designed to describe every law in every country. All advertisers bear their own responsibility for understanding the laws applicable to their business. Our policies are often more restrictive than the law, because we need to be sure we can offer services that are legal and safe for all users.

4) Google Shopping should be compatible with Google's brand decisions. Google Shopping must be compatible with company brand decisions. Our company has a strong culture and values, and we've chosen not to allow ads that promote products and services that are incompatible with these values. In addition, like all companies, Google sometimes makes decisions based on technical limitations, resource constraints, or requirements from our business partners. Our policies reflect these realities.

We've given much thought to our stance on this content, as well as the potential effect our policy decision could have on our Merchants, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Sincerely,

The Google Shopping Team

[yamatitan]

I just did a crap load of searches using google. Im not seeing what you guys are. When I search rifle I get sites like gunbroker, aimsurplus, buds, etc. I searched ar15 upper and it came up with bravocompanyusa, spikes, etc. just as many results as ever. Google must have forgot to censor on my side of town.

SHOPPING

If you select "Shopping" from the Google menu under "More" and search for "rifle" you will get no hits.

It seems their "adsense" policy extends to their shopping site.

In fact of you search in Google Shopping for "remington" you won't get a hit on Remington Electric razors but somehow the Remington 870 squeaks through.

I fail at reading lol

[doubloon]

In all fairness it's a sublety that escaped me the first time.

[Emilio]

"Shopping" is for the woman,,,, I "search".

[Historian]

"Shopping" is for the woman,,,, I "search".

Compliments on your fine tuned sense of the distinction in the English language.

For buying tools I raid.

[doubloon]

[MV10]

Can this really be called censorship? Don't they have a right as a private company to determine what and how they show their search results? Doesn't seem they are suppressing anyone's rights, unless you posit that people have a right to have their products show up in Google shopping and the "gub'ment needs to step in and protect our rights".

Exactly.

[doubloon]

Can this really be called censorship? Don't they have a right as a private company to determine what and how they show their search results? Doesn't seem they are suppressing anyone's rights, unless you posit that people have a right to have their products show up in Google shopping and the "gub'ment needs to step in and protect our rights".

Exactly.

Exactly yes. It can be called censorship because that's exactly what it is.

Censorship is not a government office. While you may believe there is a difference between political or governement censorship and private censorship the act of filtering the flow based on some moral high ground is still censoring.

It's really no different than a TV network or station refusing to run ads for companies and products it doesn't like.

Google is "strongly" opposed to censorship by the way https://www.google.com/takeaction/

They're all about telling you what information some government wants them to remove but they don't make it so plain about what information they decide to remove from the stream.

http://www.google.com/transparencyrepor ... overnment/

[-k-]

Censorship is about speech. Mainly an official action by someone in power, though the secondary meaning is an individual act. If it was really censorship you wouldn't be able to find it with a search.

This is a business decision about what they want to sell in their store, and you can only assume that it's politically based. You don't have to be happy about that decision but the claim of censorship just doesn't seem to hold up.

[TROOPER]

Can this really be called censorship? Don't they have a right as a private company to determine what and how they show their search results? Doesn't seem they are suppressing anyone's rights, unless you posit that people have a right to have their products show up in Google shopping and the "gub'ment needs to step in and protect our rights".

Exactly.

I wouldn't mind if the government stayed out of this, but have you heard about this latest thing? Google has been forced by the ATF to sell firearm-related advertisements to the Mexican drug cartels.

[markm]

Yeah I'm a bitch but to much of this off topic junk as of late

It's TOO much.... not TO much!!!

Too much bag Grammar as of late.

[gunguy]

Can this really be called censorship? Don't they have a right as a private company to determine what and how they show their search results? Doesn't seem they are suppressing anyone's rights, unless you posit that people have a right to have their products show up in Google shopping and the "gub'ment needs to step in and protect our rights".

Exactly.

I wouldn't mind if the government stayed out of this, but have you heard about this latest thing? Google has been forced by the ATF to sell firearm-related advertisements to the Mexican drug cartels.

I think it's crap the Government can force google to do anything, but in this case it doesn't really bother me.