Joco Today

U.S. Senator Roger Marshall has sent a letter to Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer of Google, demanding explanations for the company's suppression of search terms related to the assassination attempt against President Trump on July 13. The letter calls for a full investigation and Congressional hearing on Google's alleged censorship of conservative viewpoints.

Senator Marshall's letter outlines what he describes as Google's repeated history of discrimination against conservative perspectives. This action follows his announcement earlier this week regarding an investigation into Google's handling of searches related to the Trump assassination attempt.

Fox Business has published an exclusive article on Senator Marshall’s inquiry into Google’s practices.

In his correspondence, Senator Marshall states: "Google’s failure to provide suggestions related to the assassination attempt against President Trump on July 13, 2024 as part of its search function is yet another example of censorship against conservative voices and violates the intent of Section 230." He argues that omitting suggestions for such a significant event demonstrates willful discrimination and positions Google as an information arbiter beyond its intended role.

Marshall criticizes Google's self-characterization as merely a search engine and aggregator, suggesting that if it acts as a publisher or editor, Congress could reconsider Section 230 protections. He dismisses Google's claim that "no manual action" influenced the results as inadequate and misleading, noting that increased search queries should have adjusted autocomplete functions accordingly.

The senator also references concerns raised by Google employees about internal political biases and mentions Republican colleagues' worries about biased recommendation algorithms under Alphabet's umbrella.

Marshall concludes by announcing an investigation into Google's practices and expresses his intention to urge fellow members of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) to compel Google to testify under oath. He poses several questions for Pichai regarding oversight of algorithmic functions, decisions made post-July 13th attack, and timelines for updating search features related to the incident.

The letter is also addressed to Jessica Rosenworcel, Chair of the Federal Communications Commission, and Lina Khan, Chair of the Federal Trade Commission.