Search Results Protected by First Amendment, Google-Funded Analysis Says

[Dermot7]

Google and other search engines have a First Amendment right to sort or even censor search rankings as they like, according to a legal analysis Google commissioned from a law professor.

Search engine companies are no different from traditional news media outlets such as The New York Times, CNN or the Drudge Report and therefore merit the same constitutional protections, according to UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh in a recent report.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/201...rst-amendment/

[dw426]

The problem is that when you say the words First Amendment (that absolutely very few correctly recall doesn't have a thing to do with saying whatever you want, whenever you want on whatever you want.) in the same sentence that you claim you can censor things if you so choose..you look like an idiot. I get what they're doing, trying to dodge the litigation bullet storms. However, they of all people should know when Big Business wants something, it gets it, and the suits won't stop. Plus, there's now a mixed message about freedom of information and opinion and Googles' "right" to censor it.

[phkhgh]

Google is a for profit business. Freedom of speech & sorting search results aren't even related. It might be "freedom of choice how to run their business."

I don't use Google, don't like them. But don't see how freedom of speech is remotely relevant here.

[PaulyDefran]

...and IxQuick/StartPage laughed

PD

[Yura]

I was so ~ Snipped as per TOS ~ since last November or so. When Google stopped giving out search strings to analytic website services and then blatantly changed their privacy policy altogether.
What happened to "Do no evil" motto? Big Money happened.