The United States – Google Post Warnings about Sites with Antisemitic Content

At a conference on "Hate on the Internet" held at the Daniel Hotel in Herzlia, Meir Brand, General Manager of Google Israel said, "Google has decided to react to antisemitic hate sites and has issued a warning notice alongside queries containing the word 'Jew.' "When the word "Jew" is typed in, "a page explaining the rating system immediate appears and warns of the possibility of reaching offensive results, states that the announcements do not express Google's opinion and refers the user to other Internet sites that react to the offensive material which distorts facts". The conference, which was initiated by the Anti-Defamation League, dealt with the question of how to grapple with manifestations of hatred such as antisemitism on the Net. Brand's reference to the search word "Jew" is the outcome of the fact that among the first results of the search to appear is the "Jew Watch" site which contains antisemitic material. "Like many other users, I also believe that the "Jew Watch" site is very offensive", Brand said. "However, I believe that disinformation should be fought against by means of correct information. Therefore, in consultation with the Anti-Defamation League, we decided on the use of these warning announcements".

In answer to the question as to why Google does not remove these offensive search results, Brand said, "The logic behind our non-intervention in anything that has to do with searching is that the results of the search should reflect what does exist on the Internet – the excellent, the good, the bad and the ugly. Google's removal of the search results does not bring about the removal of the contents from the Net". Brand added that Google should not become the main arbiter of what does and does not appear on the Net. This decision has to be made by the elected governments and the courts".

Source: http://www.haaretz.co.il/

Date: November 13, 2007

By: Ma'ayan Cohen

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