Argentine Court Orders Google To Censor Results, Halt Suggestions

By Pamela Parker

Published: May 20, 2011 at 2:28 pm

An Argentine court has ordered Google to stop “suggesting” searches that lead to sites deemed anti-Semitic and remove the sites from the search engine’s index. The company has reportedly said it won’t take action until getting the official order from the Buenos Aires court.

The injunction, which represents censorship of search results, stems from a lawsuit by Delegación de Asociaciones Israelitas Argentinas (DAIA), an umbrella group representing Jewish organizations in Argentina. The order reportedly singles out 76 different sites that the group considers “highly discriminatory.”

While noting that the Argentinian constitution outlaws censorship, the judge wrote that it also protects people from discrimination. In this case, he believed that the protection of individuals from discrimination outweighs the censorship argument.

The ruling seems to view Google more as a publisher of information than as an intermediary.

Here’s the ruling for our Spanish-speaking readers:
Censura judicial a Google.com

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About the author

Pamela Parker

Pamela Parker is Research Director at Third Door Media's Content Studio, where she produces MarTech Intelligence Reports and other in-depth content for digital marketers in conjunction with Search Engine Land and MarTech. Prior to taking on this role at TDM, she served as Content Manager, Senior Editor and Executive Features Editor. Parker is a well-respected authority on digital marketing, having reported and written on the subject since its beginning. She's a former managing editor of ClickZ and has also worked on the business side helping independent publishers monetize their sites at Federated Media Publishing. Parker earned a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.