jamieooh
07-02-2012, 08:45 PM
Search engine Google has banned weapons and ammunitions listings from its shopping comparison service.
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02097/Guns_2097567b.jpg
By Consumer Technology Editor
1:00PM BST 02 Jul 2012
The company has notified sellers that it has updated its policy on what results will be displayed in Google Shopping.
“Our Company has a strong culture and values, and we’ve chosen not to allow ads that promote products and services that are incompatible with these values,” wrote Google.
“Weapons” and “weapon accessories” (including things like hunting rifles and ammunition) no longer show up in Google Shopping results, reported OutdoorHub.
American firearms enthusiasts have already raised a petition on Change.org asking Google to reconsider and citing rights under the Second Amendment.
The petition’s organisers claim “This has started to severely affect many people's ability to find good prices on things ranging from knives to swords to hunting rifles and ammo, to axes. Why does Google feel the need to tell people they cannot shop online for legal items?
“If you wish to purchase a gun, you are required to do a back ground check…The new policy will only effectively disable many law abiding citizens from acquiring legal weapons for legitimate purposes at reasonable prices, and hurt many many small business's income.”
Google’s original letter claims, “When we make this change, Google will disapprove all of the products identified as being in violation of policies. We ask that you make any necessary changes to your feeds and/or site to comply, so that your products can continue to appear on Google Shopping.
“We do not allow the promotion or sale of weapons and any related products such as ammunitions or accessory kits on Google Shopping. In order to comply with our new policies, please remove any weapon-related products from your data feed and then re-submit your feed in the Merchant Center.
“We’ve given much thought to our stance on this content, as well as the potential effect our policy decision could have on our Merchants, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.”
Google also announced that it will introduce sponsored listings in shopping results.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/9369893/Google-bans-weapons-from-shopping-listings.html
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02097/Guns_2097567b.jpg
By Consumer Technology Editor
1:00PM BST 02 Jul 2012
The company has notified sellers that it has updated its policy on what results will be displayed in Google Shopping.
“Our Company has a strong culture and values, and we’ve chosen not to allow ads that promote products and services that are incompatible with these values,” wrote Google.
“Weapons” and “weapon accessories” (including things like hunting rifles and ammunition) no longer show up in Google Shopping results, reported OutdoorHub.
American firearms enthusiasts have already raised a petition on Change.org asking Google to reconsider and citing rights under the Second Amendment.
The petition’s organisers claim “This has started to severely affect many people's ability to find good prices on things ranging from knives to swords to hunting rifles and ammo, to axes. Why does Google feel the need to tell people they cannot shop online for legal items?
“If you wish to purchase a gun, you are required to do a back ground check…The new policy will only effectively disable many law abiding citizens from acquiring legal weapons for legitimate purposes at reasonable prices, and hurt many many small business's income.”
Google’s original letter claims, “When we make this change, Google will disapprove all of the products identified as being in violation of policies. We ask that you make any necessary changes to your feeds and/or site to comply, so that your products can continue to appear on Google Shopping.
“We do not allow the promotion or sale of weapons and any related products such as ammunitions or accessory kits on Google Shopping. In order to comply with our new policies, please remove any weapon-related products from your data feed and then re-submit your feed in the Merchant Center.
“We’ve given much thought to our stance on this content, as well as the potential effect our policy decision could have on our Merchants, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.”
Google also announced that it will introduce sponsored listings in shopping results.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/9369893/Google-bans-weapons-from-shopping-listings.html