Being Evil
Google is anti-gun. Received a message from Google Adsense:
While reviewing your account, we noticed that you are currently displaying Google ads in a manner that is not compliant with our policies. For instance, we found violations of AdSense policies on pages such as thegunblogs.com.
As stated in our program policies, AdSense publishers are not permitted to place Google ads on sites with content related to certain weapons and weapon accessories, such as firearms, balisongs, butterfly knives, and brass knuckles.
As a result, we have disabled ad serving to the site.
Your AdSense account remains active. However, we strongly suggest that you take the time to review our program policies to ensure that all of your remaining pages are in compliance.
Please note that we may disable your account if further violations are found in the future.
Sincerely,
The Google AdSense Team
I reply with:
To my knowledge, my site is in compliance as your policy states:
“Sales or promotion of weapons or ammunition (e.g., firearms, fighting knives, stun guns)”
There are no sales occuring at thegunblogs that I am aware of.
They reply (after a week):
Hello,
Thanks for your email. We feel that, because the content of your site is largely focused on firearms, the site is not a good fit for the AdSense program. We appreciate your understanding.
Sincerely,
Scott
The Google AdSense Team
I reply:
You should specify that in your policy then. I and other reasonable people are unable to determine how you ‘feel.’
I note, however, you’ve had no issue selling gun related items on my site via your ads*.
Don’t be evil.
* Note: for evidence, look to your left.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
Fork Google. There, I said it.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
Don’t worry, they’ll remove that advertisement soon enough.
I don’t understand the mentality, here. Are advertisers so worried that they’ll be linked with lawful gun use (if they advertise something similar to guns, and if their viewer reads about gun use that often) that it’s worth losing advertising space?
September 28th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
More “Reasoned Discourse” in action.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Hmmmm, that would really hurt stocks if there was a pro-firearm boycott of AdSense, and perhaps Google search and GMAIL all together…. Not a very intellegent move on their part, or for their share holders.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Don’t boycott Google, click every ad on a pro-gun site you can find!
Let’s see how their politics stacks up against revenue.
September 28th, 2007 at 4:07 pm
[…] you get my little ASCII illustration there. SayUncle gets removed from the AdSense program because of firearms content. I don’t keep ads on Snowflakes in Hell, and have no intention […]
September 28th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
I have to tell you, I can’t really boycott google and still function. But AdSense benefits google. It’s really their loss if they want to be shit heads about this.
September 28th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Not much of a surprise, considering this
September 28th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Front Sight purchases a ton of ad space via AdSense, as do quite a few other businesses.
Let the businesses that advertise on AdSense know Google’s policy and how they enforce it. The folks paying the bucks have the ability to get this policy changed.
September 28th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
Google is a cult. They’re like a commune. They took-over the old Silicon Graphics HQ where Algore gave one of his early “My Internet” speeches when the ‘Net was really taking off – running on the SGI servers before they built all the server-farms out on 237 by Alviso… Anyhow I see Googleoids all the time, wandering oblivious out into the street in front of cars, geeking around on fat tired beach-bikes. These are the permanently arrested-adolescents – stuck in College Dormlife forever.
September 28th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
I already block google ads anyway.
September 28th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Wow, business is that good for google that they can give up some?
September 28th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
THey did the exact same thing to me over a year ago.
http://anarchangel.blogspot.com/2006/02/dont-be-evil-ok-how-about-politicially.html
September 28th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
What is it with these stupid dotcoms and tech companies?
They seem to think that everyone of the earth’s problems can be solved with a mouse, a monitor and a Paypal account.
Usefull idiots.
September 28th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Time for the NRA to put an anti-discrimination act on the “to get passed by Congress” list.
September 28th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
“AdSense publishers are not permitted to place Google ads on sites with content related to certain weapons and weapon accessories, such as firearms, balisongs, butterfly knives, and brass knuckles.”
So those of us who are interested in our Second Amendment rights are not permitted to show AdSense advertisements, but companies that sell weapons, weapon-related items, and weapons training are allowed to buy AdSense advertisements?
So Google is willing to take our money, but not let us make money off them? Yeah, that seems… right.
September 28th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
Its nice to know we are banned along with illegal drugs, illegal activities, copyright infringement etc etc.
You probably would not get a high click through rate anyway. The ads could not display anything firearms related.
Does the yahoo ad program have the same restrictions?
September 28th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
I just wrote this up in my blog and added 3 very interesting screen captures…
http://whatfools.blogspot.com/2007/09/google-discriminates.html
September 29th, 2007 at 12:28 am
Adblock Plus puts a bit of a crimp in the business plan of Google Ads.
Most ads are garbage. So I choose not to see them. Lot less static in the world since I installed it.
September 29th, 2007 at 4:07 am
Using the internet without adblock these days is almost inconceivable. I nearly have an epileptic fit when I use other people’s computers and see flashing ads everywhere.
I find it amusing that Google will let prostitutes (oh sorry escorts) and weapon sellers advertise but won’t let the ads be displayed on sites that sell weapons. That is the kind of policy a government regulator might think up.
September 29th, 2007 at 10:54 am
If you can’t live without google, try this:
Scroogle Scraper
They hate google much, and the engine does find things well.
September 29th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
[…] SaysUncle has been having a bit of a problem with Google. Google is anti-gun. […]
September 29th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Pistol Ringtones? Makes your phone sound like a gun being fired?
September 29th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
[…] December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 « « Being Evil | Home […]
September 29th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Microsoft could do us all a big favor. Start shipping IE with an ad blocker. That would put Google out of business right quick. MSN doesn’t make diddly squat ad wise so it wouldn’t hurt Microsoft. So there you go Microsoft get to it!
September 29th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
Bah. I keep trying to trackback ping, and it keeps failing. Oh well. Suffice to say that my AdSense account has been cancelled, at least whenever they bother getting around to my email.
September 29th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Not sure about your ping. Not showing up in my filters.
September 29th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
Probably my fault – I use a local program to post things to my weblog, and it occasionally times out. The address I should be pinging is the post’s, right? no “/trackback/” stuff?
September 30th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
[…] Uncle is reporting that he received a note from Google AdWords that they wouldn’t run ads on his site because it […]
October 1st, 2007 at 8:43 am
[…] I’m not the only one. Joe Huffman notes similar dealings with Google and their unclear policies. And Chris had the same problem as me last year. It’s like they don’t support free speech and civil rights, or something. […]
October 1st, 2007 at 8:44 am
I have commented in the past their politics and behaviors do not appear to align with yours.
I agree with the above comment that moving away from gmail is a step you can take.
October 1st, 2007 at 11:23 am
[…] Unless your Google. […]
October 1st, 2007 at 12:41 pm
googlonymous is another choice to stick it to google (which still has every search term ever – though they are “planning” to respect your privacy in the future.
October 3rd, 2007 at 10:46 am
Microsoft has a search engine alternative to Google that was just updated to have results “on par” with Google. A few more details are in my blog posting.
October 4th, 2007 at 8:44 am
[…] an update to Google being anti-gun (but apparently pro-hooker), here’s the latest correspondence: Thanks for your thoughts on […]
October 8th, 2007 at 10:30 am
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October 9th, 2007 at 8:08 am
[…] may know that I’m in a bit of a back and forth with them. See here, here, here, and here. Well, Steve notes that google advertises at their own gun site, a google […]
October 26th, 2007 at 10:07 am
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