Google Removes 'Obama Deception,' Limits Freedom of Speech

A documentary, "The Obama Deception," gained quick success on Youtube, showcasing the lack of change under the current Obama administration. Over 6.5 million people viewed the film, leading to discussion online if the Obama administration has brought change as promised. However, just as quickly as the documentary was uploaded, any and all mentions of the video were erased. While Google hasn't taken responsibility for the action, the general consensus is that the company used access to delete the information. With the censorship of public knowledge, the question of if Americans truly have freedom of speech is up for debate.

"The Obama Deception" is just the most recent deletion from Google, removing public information from the Internet, but certainly not the first. The company works with the United States government to censor search results that are not deemed fit for the American public to gain access to. Complying with the Digital Millennium Act, Google states in its policy that they do not "accept advertising if the ad or site advocates against other individuals, groups or organizations."

This policy allows the company and the government to remove any and all published work that goes against others - in this case, working in favor of deleting all mentions of "The Obama Deception," since it questions the Obama administration. While it does work with their policy, it doesn't work with the American right of having freedom of speech, and having freedom of information on the Internet.

Unless a produced work defames an individual or poses a direct threat, the American people should have the right to be educated on all viewpoints held on a situation of interest. There are gray areas, such as how Google worked with the United States government so that, "on Google Maps, Google removed street view and 360 degree images of military bases per the Pentagon's request." However, there is a difference between showing military bases and showing a documentary on the President.

According to Youtube, which is a subsidiary of Google, it is prohibited to post videos "which violate copyrights or depict pornography, illegal acts, gratuitous violence, or hate speech." "The Obama Deception" was hardly a documentary that met any of the above reasons for violation, but many of the documentaries that are posted and then removed are. In October 2008, according to the Telegraph, a political video titled "Welcome to Saudi Britain," created by Pat Condell, was removed and then protested by the National Secular Society. Likewise, in 2009, a citizen journalist named Suzannah B. Troy posted videos stating her views on the New York term limits that allowed Michael Bloomberg to run for a third mayoral term in 2009 had her account suspended until after the mayoral election was over.

There is no proof that the United States government asked Google to remove the Obama documentary from online search engines. However, regardless of whether or not the government helped insinuate such a drastic action, they should have come forward with a strong reaction against such censorship on freedom of speech. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in article 19, all human beings have the right to express their opinions and ideas without hindrance. As long as there isn't defamation, libel, or a given threat, there should be a freedom, of which Google and the United States government isn't standing up for to protect.

Sources:

http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf

http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2004/05/17/google-somewhat-lifts-oceana-ad-ban

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/03/google_caves_to.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3130883/YouTube-censors-comedians-anti-Sharia-video-called-Welcome-to-Saudi-Britain.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2009/10/odds-and-ends-557.html

http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/