re: #286 GunstarGreen
I am advising caution against going down a road where a company that is not accountable to the people can control what sorts of information the people have access to. Maybe we’ve already started down that road, maybe we’re at a point where we can decide to go another way.
Ultimately, Google is accountable only to its board and its stockholders. It also needs to work within legal limits. Companies have controlled what information the people can access for years. For example, the telephone company could not tell me an unlisted phone number, even if I had good reason to obtain it. A bank, likewise, is not going to share with Tom, Dick and Harry the account information of any of its customers. There is no reasonable requirement that Google should provide users links to child porn, given that CP is illegal.
You are arguing the “slippery slope” logical fallacy, by the way: If Google blocks child porn searches now, what will they block later? You might need to reconsider your argument.