Google is with the antis

[Quartus]

From the Utah GOA list:

"Add "Google" search engine to the anti-gun crowd. Let them know your displeasure if you can as well, if you are so inclined.

"I sell Dillon loading presses through my website www.eguns.com . That is all I sell. I am not an FFL and do not trade at all in firearms. I was trying to use Google's AdWords ads to see if I can increase my business. This is the response I got from them:

"...please know that we do not allow advertisements for the sale of guns or related products."

"This was a direct mail from their support team when I inquired why I had not received a confirmation. They allow porno, but not loading presses?

"You can let the AdWords team know your displeasure at
[email protected]

Their general email seems to be:
[email protected]

"Their snailmail address is: Google, Inc. 2400 Bayshore Parkway Mountain View CA 94043."



Let 'em hear about it! (Yes, I know. For some of you Google is much to convenient to even consider boycotting them.)

(Edited to fix email links.
--Don Gwinn)

[TheBluesMan]

This claim seems to false.

I did a google search on "reloading press" and take a look at what came up:
http://www.google.com/search?q=reloading+press

Dunno about you, but my page has an AdWords advertisement on the right side from eguns.com

There's an AdWords ad for Pelican Cases when you do a search for "gun cases:" http://www.google.com/search?q=gun+case

What's more, look at all the gun-related categories they have in their classifications: http://directory.google.com/Top/Recreation/Guns

Like I said... Looks like a false claim.

[dischord]

I don't believe this. Google has a gun-retailers page, where it provides links to 50+ firearms e-commerce sites. It is my understanding that you must pay to be on the page.

See: http://directory.google.com/Top/Recr...uns/Retailers/

In fact, if you go up one level, you'll find over 1,000 sites that are of interest to shooters, both information and retail.

http://directory.google.com/Top/Recreation/Guns/

As a matter of fact, if you go over to their political groups directory, they use our language in describing the opposing sides -- "pro gun rights" and "anti gun rights."

http://directory.google.com/Top/Soci...s/Gun_Control/

[TheBluesMan]

I just sent an email to eguns.com asking what is going on with this claim.

From: "David Miller" <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Is Google.com Anti-Gun?
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 02:39:48 +0800

I just did a Google search for "reloading press" and I saw an AdWords ad for your site. (www.eguns.com)

This surprised me since I recently read an account, presumably written by you, that said Google refused to let you advertise.

What's really going on? Is this just a ploy to get more exposure for your business, or is Google going to be pulling your ad?

Regards,
-Dave Miller

I'll report back here with the reply when I get it.

[TheBluesMan]

To: David Miller <[email protected]>
Cc: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Is Google.com Anti-Gun?
Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2001 15:42:34 -0400

Hi

I don't think they know the ad is running. This is the story:

I submitted the ad to their AdWords program. As part of that submission, I was supposed to receive a "confirmation" email that would activate my account. This activation didn't come. After a day of waiting, I emailed their support group and asked about the confirmation. I was told they don't accept ads for firearms or firearms related material. The discussion went back and forth between me and them. Their adwords system is automated with little or no human intervention in normal operation. Towards the end of the back-and-forth, their automated system became unstuck or whatever was wrong with my original confirmation and I got a whole bnuch of confirmations for my account (I had repeatedly pushed the resend button since I had not gotten the confirmation originally). So I decided to go and see how their system worked and I went in and confirmed my account.

That worked. The ad was still in their system -- they had not deleted it -- it must be that their directive to me that they don't run firearms related ads was due to my email address and mail-name "The Electroni GunShop" and "[email protected]". Anyway, their automated system confirmed me and let me type in a credit card and the ad was started. All automatically. AFTER the ad stared, I got an email from some manager there reiterating their policy saying something like they strongly supported freedom of expression but also reserved the right of editorial freedom to accept or reject ads. They affirmed their anti-firearm "policy", which BTW is not listed in their T&Cs, after the ad started running. So, it appears to me that they still are anti-gun but that their "controls" on their system are not that strong.

I also have a non-firearms related business that started an adwords "campaign" on google the day after I first started my Dillon one and it too had a lot of delay in getting the confirmation email etc. so it appears that their automated system is not that reliable.

Thanks
best regards
Chad

Methinks it's time to inquire with Google. Anyone up to the challenge?

[OF]

For alot of the same reasons posted above, I was under the impression that Google was on our side. I mean, how can anything this cool be anti-gun?!

If I'm not right, and against all hope they end up siding with Feinstein, they're history.


- Gabe

[Quartus]

I offer, without comment, my email to, and reply from, Google:

I have just learned of your corporate policy of opposing the United
States Constitution. "...please know that we do not allow
advertisements for the sale of guns or related products."

Please know that I will no longer use Google. I have deleted my
bookmarks to your site.

And their response:

Google believes strongly in freedom of expression and therefore offers broad access to content across the web without
censoring results. At the same time, we reserve the right to exercise editorial discretion when it comes to the
advertising we accept on our site, as noted in our advertising terms and conditions. Please note that the decisions we
make concerning advertising in no way affect the search results we deliver. We will continue to show search results
for guns and related products.

We appreciate your comments on this issue, which will help inform our future policy discussions. Thank you for taking the time to contact us.

Regards,
The Google Team

[ICBentley]

Here's my conversation with them:

Hello Bentley,

Thank you for your email. We appreciate your feedback and are glad to know you were a strong supporter of Google. It is Google's corporate policy that we do not allow the advertisement of firearms on our site. Google, of course, will produce search results for guns and related firearm topic, but we will not display ads. Thank you for your time.

Please feel free to email us at [email protected] with further questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

The Google AdWords Team



-----Original Message-----
From: Bentley
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2001 3:00 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Anti-Freedom Discrimination


I've used your service and recommended it to friends with pleasure for several months now. Yours is the best search engine I know of. However, I have recently been told that your AdWords advertising service communicates as policy that, "...please know that we do not allow advertisements for the sale of guns or related products."

If this is true, I would like you to know that I am among the many who boycott companies with anti -freedom policies. All natural human rights are precious including the freedom to defend one's self.

Bentley