Censoring and filtering of search engine results pages (SERPs) by Google in India is neither new nor uncommon. Even blogs have been demoted and censored by Google. Posts offending Indian government sentiments and ideology are frequently censored by Google. Whether it is search results of Aadhar project, video conferencing, World Bank related issues, etc all of them have been censored by Google from time to time in India and world wide.The latest to add to this list is search results pertaining to national counter terrorism centre (NCTC) and intelligence agencies of India. Google has crossed all the limits this time and it has done so in great disregard to the right to speech and expression in India and world wide. Opinions disclosing lacunas, limitations and inconsistencies of Indian government and its policies are simply removed to please Indian government and intelligence agencies of India.
While NCTC related SERPs results have been completely censored by Google yet intelligence agencies related news results have been deleted by Google altogether. Some of the results that first appeared in Google SERPs and Google news and then disappeared are:
(a) National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) of India
(2) National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) of India Is Required
(3) Parliamentary Oversight of Intelligence Agencies of India Is Needed- A news piece that disappeared within one hour of its publication.
Even if some of the posts have appeared in the SERPs and Google news, they have been dumped so deep that it is difficult to trace them. Further, SERPS and news results are showing great fluctuations.
It seems the civil and criminal cases filed against Google in India have shown their impact. Google is complying with the demands, even if illegal and unconstitutional, of Indian government and its agencies without even thinking twice. Clearly, Google has deviated from its motto of do not be evil and is doing exactly the opposite.
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