Google warns AdSense users not to 'monetize' the war in Ukraine [teleco
From
Bill Horne@21:1/5 to
All on Wed Apr 13 20:35:53 2022
Opinion by the Moderator
(Guest Moderated by Fred Goldstein, with thanks)
A long time ago, Pat Townsend had ads on the Telecom Digest
website. When I took over, I took them down, since MIT policy was not
to allow ads, and I didn't want to offend our benefactors - power,
processor, pipe, and ping do NOT come cheap - and so the ads went
away. I sent Pat a check for what was left in the AdSense account, but
I decided to keep it open in case we had to change location and come
up with money for a "commercial" web service provider.
Today, I got the following notice from AdSense:
Dear Publisher,
Due to the war in Ukraine, we will pause monetization of content
that exploits, dismisses, or condones the war. Please note, we
have already been enforcing on claims related to the war in
Ukraine when they violated existing policies (for instance, the
Dangerous or Derogatory content policy prohibits monetizing
content that incites violence or denies tragic events). This
update is meant to clarify, and in some cases expand, our
publisher guidance as it relates to this conflict. This pause
includes, but is not limited to, claims that imply victims are
responsible for their own tragedy or similar instances of victim
blaming, such as claims that Ukraine is committing genocide or
deliberately attacking its own citizens.
Sincerely,
The Google AdSense Team
Now, I'm neither an admirer or a critic of Google, as a company. My
views on the Google Pixel cellphone are obvious, but I don't think that Google's search engine and/or advertising business are a threat to
society, good taste, or political correctness.
But, this new policy worries me. With most major newspapers going
online, and with minor regional or local newspapers forced to cut back
on printing expense, the online ad revenue that they receive from
Google AdSense might be essential to maintaining some semblence of a
"free" press.
To the extent that Google's decision causes editors to spike *ANY*
stories about the Russion-Ukranian war, then Google is exercising
editorial control over what ordinary citizens in the U.S. are able to
see and hear concerning it.
--
(Please remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)
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From
Dave Garland@21:1/5 to
All on Sun Apr 17 00:02:42 2022
I cannot recall any time that this venue has even mentioned Ukrainian
or Russian systems, and if we do, it's likely to be re technology, not
politics or aggression. So it doesn't seem to apply to us. Discussion
of politics not related to telecom is off-topic here. Maybe we could
see an article on how communications via secure vs. non-secure cell or
radio circuits impacts military operations. Whether Google's policy
attacks free speech* or any side's propaganda** is a different
question but need not concern us.
* only applies to government restrictions
** it is dangerous to take any side's claims as 100% truth, e.g. "we
sunk Moskva with 2 missiles" vs. "Moskva had a fire".
***** Moderator's Note *****
What concerns me is not Google's actions vis-à-vis the Russia-Ukraine
conflict, but the precedent. Mega-corporations have been trying to
bypass government restrictions on their operations for decades, and
Google's decision to tax any opinion about the Russion-Ukrainian war
that they don't agree with is, AFAICT, just a trial balloon. If our
government can't act - and I don't think it can - then Google can
define any opinion other than its own as being unjust and/or racist, mysogynistic, or against unspecified rules.
This is the beginning of a return to a new copy of the Hearst empire,
and to a world where Billionaires decide what is best for us. You
heard it here first.
Bill Horne
Moderator
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