As we near the Presidential elections in the U.S., the climate of the political arena is growing feverish. Google has been actively covering the latest happenings on the political front. The company has also been running political ads through its TV ads unit, to be shut down within a couple of months, and recently ran a political ad by Green Party. The problem is, Google censored a portion of the ad on the basis of usage of inappropriate language on public media, and the Green Party has accused Google for violating Federal law by doing so.
The ad in question shows Green Party’s presidential candidate, Jill Stein, speaking about different issues. It was aired on September 4th. One tiny glitch with the ad was that at one place, Stein used the word ‘bullshit’ which, although was obvious, but was quietly censored with a bleep.
Later, Google told the Green Party that its ads had been cancelled because of inappropriate language. But Jill Stein thinks that by doing so, Google is directly violating federal law.
The federal law states that any political ads submitted by such candidates who are running for a public office, must not be censored. However, it is unsure as to what extent this law can apply to the use of inappropriate language on TV.
Jill Stein is citing the said federal law to imply that Google actually violated federal laws. While it may seem a little exaggerated, it can lead Google’s TV ads unit to yet more troubles.
Update: Stein has posted on her website that Google, after having second thoughts, has lifted the ban on running Green Party’s ads and they are not running on TV and cable yet again.
Source: Jill Stein
Courtesy: Venture Beat
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