The new Gatekeepers…

Going back to Sunstein and the question of informational gatekeepers, I found this article about Google.

Before I get started I want to say that I love Google. Google has made great steps toward changing the internet from overwhelming seas of unmanageable information to systematic searchable annals of human knowledge.

This being said, I am worried by this World Net Daily article entitled, Google blocks ad for anti-Clinton book. This article claims that Google has refused to sell ad space to political organizations with particularly conservative leanings.

Is this fair? Google has become the premiere way for people to find information on the internet. What happens when Google, or any other search engine, starts deciding what sites can be found? Would allowing only one political side to purchase advertisements constitute in-kind contributions and corporate giving?

The Institute for Democracy, Politics, and the Internet hints, in The Political Consultants' Online Fundraising Primer, that such action may fall under regulatory guidelines.

“Both campaign Internet operations and volunteer efforts to support a candidate,
which could be seen as an in-kind campaign contribution, must follow applicable
election laws in collecting online contributions.”

So do we need regulation calling for equal treatment by search engines?

This could get complicated.