Google Executives Face Consequences After Censoring Trump Assassination Attempt Photo
Google admitted to censoring recent searches for photos of the Trump assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) launched an investigation into Google after its autocomplete search results did not register the assassination attempt against Trump on July 13. In a letter, Sen. Marshall questioned the company over the search function, asking about its algorithm and what decisions were made in the aftermath of the attack on Trump.
In its response to the senator, Google Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy, US and Canada Mark Isakowitz listed the policies that guide the autocomplete function.
“We do not allow predictions that can be interpreted as accusations against individuals or groups of serious malevolent acts, where there is a lack of well-established or expert supporting evidence,” he said.
However, Marshall told Fox News Digital in a statement on Wednesday that Google’s search autocomplete function was still omitting Trump assassination attempt results as of his public inquiry to the company on July 28.
“Google is now openly admitting that they were blocking and eliminating search prompts regarding the assassination attempt on President Trump,” the senator told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement. “Most shocking is their bizarre written defense that Trump’s assassination attempt was a ‘hypothetical act of political violence’ even up to the point of our public inquiry on July 28th.”
The company explained in its letter to him, “In the immediate aftermath of the horrific events in Butler, PA, these systems were still in place and predictions related to the assassination attempt failed to appear. We recognize that these out-of-date systems led to an inadequate user experience.”
Sen. Marshall still wasn’t satisfied by Google’s response.
“In response to this letter, I am demanding that Google’s top executives testify under oath before the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee,” the Kansas senator said. “Under oath, they won’t be able to hide behind an algorithm or get away with corporate double-speak.”
According to Marshall, the committee is “launching a full investigation into Google’s litany of offenses.” He added that it is “time for accountability and consequence.”