By Chad Love

Is Google unfairly discriminating against businesses that sell firearms, ammo and knives? A recent change to Google Shopping's policies for businesses that prohibits advertising guns, ammunition, knives and other products has many wondering what the omnipresent company is up to.

From this story on Forbes.com:
"...Specifically, they’ve banned results related to firearms and other products that they don’t deem to be “family safe.” Until recently, gun-related products appeared with other products in search results on the shopping section. Many of America’s 80 million gun owners have used Google as a powerful price-comparison tool. Not anymore. 

Google’s new, anti-gun policy, assigns a "family status" to all products. Products that are “non-family safe” are blocked from Google Shopping. This includes guns, ammunition and knives, as well as vehicles, tobacco and radar scramblers.

Of course, this isn't the first time a giant and ubiquitous Internet presence has gone after guns and related products. Several years ago eBay did the same thing. Perhaps un-coincidentally, about the only thing you can now find on eBay are fake purses made from pressed-and-formed Chinese industrial slag and PayPal scams, while sites like Gunbroker are going gangbusters.

But it does bring up an interesting question: Yes, Google is a business, and as such, should only be beholden to its shareholders. But considering how utterly dominant and pervasive Google is in literally everyone's lives, both personal and professional, and how Google is, quite frankly, a de facto monopoly in many ways, are arbitrary decisions like this a violation or unfair infringement on gun-related businesses' ability to operate online? Should gun-related businesses have a "right" to advertise on Google? Or should we just take our lumps, go find a new online strategy and hope someday that the big Google dragon gets slayed?

Comments (13)

from Ontario Honker ... wrote 48 weeks 3 days ago

I can still search for gun deals on Google. Have never ever used google shopping for anything. Didn't even know it exists. They banned gun stuff on their shopping function? Who cares? Won't hurt or help their business. Or mine. Much ado about nothing.

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from Dennis Rahn wrote 48 weeks 3 days ago

"Much ado about nothing." How can you say that? Any abstraction to our Second Amendment rights is another citizen hiding in the closet while the bad guy ransacks the home you and your family live in. But what do you expect from someone that has already given up their guns.

+4 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from CorieSquared wrote 48 weeks 3 days ago

While guns and knives are deemed unfriendly to families and excluded from shopping results, adult sex toys still pop right up. Weird rules.

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from bass bomber wrote 48 weeks 3 days ago

I switched from Google to Yahoo because of this.

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from missedit wrote 48 weeks 3 days ago

Well they better stop the sales of scissors, pencils, pins, anything with poison in it!!!
They will find, that google will lose some of there customers & profits, dumb move!!!!

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from small game sportsman wrote 48 weeks 2 days ago

Instead of trying to separate kids from guns, try to educate kids about guns. This would not only solve this problem, but prevent many gun related accents in the future.

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from Ontario Honker ... wrote 48 weeks 2 days ago

Dennis, it's their website. They can do what they want with it. Called constitutional right to do what you want with your own property. Hasn't got a damned thing to do with 2nd Amendment.

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from huntenthusiest wrote 48 weeks 2 days ago

This is already old news. Google has already reinstated the ability to do comparative shopping of firearms related items earlier taken away. It didn't take them long to realize that we're not a minority easily discarded.

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from Josh Giannino wrote 48 weeks 2 days ago

i use base price from the factorys, that way im prepared for it and happier when my gun buyer says, i can get it shipped for less then that,

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from BippityBoopityMate wrote 47 weeks 2 days ago

guns are good for familys, they protect from harm and make a great family experience whether its hunting or just shooting clays out of the sky, It's good for the children to be informed about them, know how they work, and the know the right way to use them

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from Red Salas wrote 45 weeks 4 days ago

What a big crock

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from mstelzer wrote 45 weeks 4 days ago

Good. Switch to Yahoo. Who wants a bunch of super controlling tech nerds, whose families and employees are daily protected by cops and security who carry guns, knives, and, yes, ammunition, having so much influence over our territory? I would prefer to see gun sales under the influence of groups like Gunbroker where the second amendment is respected, instead of by the likes of google that has, by its very nature, to cater to business concerns that do not have our interests at heart.

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from seawolf4@optonl... wrote 18 weeks 1 day ago

Family safe? But you can buy a Dildoo or Vibrator.

I guess they are Family safe. LOL

I now use Gunbroker or Bing as my search engine.

By By Google! Google Must be an Obama contributor.

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from CorieSquared wrote 48 weeks 3 days ago

While guns and knives are deemed unfriendly to families and excluded from shopping results, adult sex toys still pop right up. Weird rules.

+5 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Dennis Rahn wrote 48 weeks 3 days ago

"Much ado about nothing." How can you say that? Any abstraction to our Second Amendment rights is another citizen hiding in the closet while the bad guy ransacks the home you and your family live in. But what do you expect from someone that has already given up their guns.

+4 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from small game sportsman wrote 48 weeks 2 days ago

Instead of trying to separate kids from guns, try to educate kids about guns. This would not only solve this problem, but prevent many gun related accents in the future.

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from bass bomber wrote 48 weeks 3 days ago

I switched from Google to Yahoo because of this.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from missedit wrote 48 weeks 3 days ago

Well they better stop the sales of scissors, pencils, pins, anything with poison in it!!!
They will find, that google will lose some of there customers & profits, dumb move!!!!

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Ontario Honker ... wrote 48 weeks 2 days ago

Dennis, it's their website. They can do what they want with it. Called constitutional right to do what you want with your own property. Hasn't got a damned thing to do with 2nd Amendment.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from seawolf4@optonl... wrote 18 weeks 1 day ago

Family safe? But you can buy a Dildoo or Vibrator.

I guess they are Family safe. LOL

I now use Gunbroker or Bing as my search engine.

By By Google! Google Must be an Obama contributor.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from huntenthusiest wrote 48 weeks 2 days ago

This is already old news. Google has already reinstated the ability to do comparative shopping of firearms related items earlier taken away. It didn't take them long to realize that we're not a minority easily discarded.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Josh Giannino wrote 48 weeks 2 days ago

i use base price from the factorys, that way im prepared for it and happier when my gun buyer says, i can get it shipped for less then that,

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from BippityBoopityMate wrote 47 weeks 2 days ago

guns are good for familys, they protect from harm and make a great family experience whether its hunting or just shooting clays out of the sky, It's good for the children to be informed about them, know how they work, and the know the right way to use them

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Red Salas wrote 45 weeks 4 days ago

What a big crock

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from mstelzer wrote 45 weeks 4 days ago

Good. Switch to Yahoo. Who wants a bunch of super controlling tech nerds, whose families and employees are daily protected by cops and security who carry guns, knives, and, yes, ammunition, having so much influence over our territory? I would prefer to see gun sales under the influence of groups like Gunbroker where the second amendment is respected, instead of by the likes of google that has, by its very nature, to cater to business concerns that do not have our interests at heart.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Ontario Honker ... wrote 48 weeks 3 days ago

I can still search for gun deals on Google. Have never ever used google shopping for anything. Didn't even know it exists. They banned gun stuff on their shopping function? Who cares? Won't hurt or help their business. Or mine. Much ado about nothing.

-1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

Post a Comment

 

All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.