“Political Weapon”: Leaked Google Docs Argue Against Free Speech

Breitbart News has been second to none when it comes to exposing the liberal bias running like a thick braid of energy through the top tech companies in the world, and they are not slowing down anytime soon. Only weeks after dropping a bombshell video that showed Google executives openly weeping over the election of Donald Trump, Breitbart got their hands on, and published, an internal company briefing that has top Google employees arguing that in the Age of Trump, the “American tradition” of free speech online is not going to get it anymore.

From Breitbart:

The 85-page briefing, titled “The Good Censor,” admits that Google and other tech platforms now “control the majority of online conversations” and have undertaken a “shift towards censorship” in response to unwelcome political events around the world.

Examples cited in the document include the 2016 election and the rise of Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) in Germany.

The briefing labels the ideal of unfettered free speech on the internet a “utopian narrative” that has been “undermined” by recent global events as well as “bad behavior” on the part of users.

The briefing argues that Google, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are caught between two incompatible positions, the “unmediated marketplace of ideas” vs. “well-ordered spaces for safety and civility.”

The first approach is described as a product of the “American tradition” which “prioritizes free speech for democracy, not civility.” The second is described as a product of the “European tradition,” which “favors dignity over liberty and civility over freedom.” The briefing claims that all tech platforms are now moving toward the European tradition.

The document indicts Google (and Facebook, Twitter, and other online highways of information) of liberal bias in its worst form. These companies no longer simply view themselves as platforms for publishers; they ARE the publishers. And whether or not you agree that Washington should step in and take a firmer regulatory hand with these companies, there is no question that Americans need to know what they’re getting into when they use these websites. Unfortunately, when the websites themselves control the flow of 90% of information that gets to users, well, you can see the problem. Those who know, know. Those who don’t may never find out.

“Free speech has become a social, economic, and political weapon,” the Google briefing states at one point.

That’s right. We need to make sure it stays damned sharp.