Google criticized for suppressing ads of a non-profit group

[dArKeR]

Online search engine leader Google has banned the ads of an environmental group protesting a major cruise line's sewage treatment methods, casting a spotlight on the policies -- and power -- of the popular Web site's lucrative marketing program.

Oceana, a two-and-a-half-year-old nonprofit group, said Google dropped the text-based ads displayed in shaded boxes along the right side of its Web page because they were critical of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.

Washington DC-based Oceana believes Royal Caribbean pollutes the oceans by improperly treating the sewage on its ships. It hoped to publicize its complaints by paying to have its ads appear when terms like "cruise vacation" and "cruise ship" were entered into Google's search engine.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/worldbiz/archives/2004/02/14/2003098747


My old Google Nazi toon:
toward the bottom;
http://darkerxdarker.tripod.com/push030813.html