From: malQRMassimilation@gmail.com   
      
   Opinion by the Moderator   
   (Guest Moderated by Fred Goldstein, with thanks)   
      
   A long time ago, Pat Townsend had ads on the Telecom Digest   
   website. When I took over, I took them down, since MIT policy was not   
   to allow ads, and I didn't want to offend our benefactors - power,   
   processor, pipe, and ping do NOT come cheap - and so the ads went   
   away. I sent Pat a check for what was left in the AdSense account, but   
   I decided to keep it open in case we had to change location and come   
   up with money for a "commercial" web service provider.   
      
   Today, I got the following notice from AdSense:   
      
        Dear Publisher,   
      
        Due to the war in Ukraine, we will pause monetization of content   
        that exploits, dismisses, or condones the war.  Please note, we   
        have already been enforcing on claims related to the war in   
        Ukraine when they violated existing policies (for instance, the   
        Dangerous or Derogatory content policy prohibits monetizing   
        content that incites violence or denies tragic events). This   
        update is meant to clarify, and in some cases expand, our   
        publisher guidance as it relates to this conflict.  This pause   
        includes, but is not limited to, claims that imply victims are   
        responsible for their own tragedy or similar instances of victim   
        blaming, such as claims that Ukraine is committing genocide or   
        deliberately attacking its own citizens.   
      
        Sincerely,   
      
        The Google AdSense Team   
      
   Now, I'm neither an admirer or a critic of Google, as a company. My   
   views on the Google Pixel cellphone are obvious, but I don't think that   
   Google's search engine and/or advertising business are a threat to   
   society, good taste, or political correctness.   
      
   But, this new policy worries me. With most major newspapers going   
   online, and with minor regional or local newspapers forced to cut back   
   on printing expense, the online ad revenue that they receive from   
   Google AdSense might be essential to maintaining some semblence of a   
   "free" press.   
      
   To the extent that Google's decision causes editors to spike *ANY*   
   stories about the Russion-Ukranian war, then Google is exercising   
   editorial control over what ordinary citizens in the U.S. are able to   
   see and hear concerning it.   
      
      
   --   
   (Please remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)