Comment number 1 smacked me in the head.

AFAIK, Google never promised to give users links to everything on the Internet. Child porn may be in fact on the Internet, but there should be no expectation that Google is at all required to allow users to search for it, given that child porn is illegal in every jurisdiction. Google could be charged with aiding and abetting a crime, were Google to locate a child porn site or server, and then fail to report it to authorities. Or, conversely, Google could be named in a legal case involving some end user who had used the search engine to find and then download child porn onto his computer.

The idea that child porn is just “information” yearning to be free makes no sense. We live in a free country, yet there are laws that restrict our freedom to ensure a safe and manageable society. DaveBarnes’ credit card and bank account numbers are also information. Maybe they are also yearning to be free. I need a new camera to replace my now-dead Nikon D60. Is it then OK for to me search for his financial information, so I can use his money to buy a camera for me? And do we want Google to provide me a means to get that information? Surely not, since using someone’s else money to buy something for my own use is called theft, and there are laws against theft. If i did obtain DaveBarnes’ financial records, I would be committing a crime whether I used that information or not. Similarly, just viewing child porn on one’s computer screen is a crime.

I suspect DaveBarnes and the other defenders of freely searchable child porn would be singing a different aria if it were their own kids in the images.