Google report likens search results to opinion protected by the First Amendment
Apparently, according to Eugene Volokh, a First Amendment scholar, search engine results are akin to an opinion. Google is trying to make a point against government intervention.
Should Google’s search engine be protected by Free Speech?
A report by Eugene Volokh, a UCLA law professor, yes. “Google, Microsoft’s Bing, Yahoo! Search and other search engine companies are rightly seen as media enterprises, much as the New York Times Company or CNN are media enterprises,” says Volokh. By likening search results to Google’s “opinion” they hope to protect themselves under the First Amendment according to news site PaidContent
“Google, Microsoft’s Bing, Yahoo Search and other search engine companies are rightly seen as media enterprises, much as the New York Times Company or CNN are media enterprises,” Volokh said in the report. But, does that mean Google has the rights to exclude certain sites, particularly anything competitive? That’s the big question here. It would seem like Google has filed this report in anticipation of some legal event or initiative.
Recently, Google has come under fire for allegedly rigging search results and also is under some anti-trust heat. It would follow that this report is intended to provide some added ammunition for further legal trouble.
