Google has pulled the plug on adsense ads that attack some element of a political candidates personal life.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080125-google-as-gatekeeper-no-personal-a ttacks-in-campaign-ads.html

Very interesting, IMHO. This does bring up regulation of speech questions. I'm eager to see how that all shakes out.

On the surface, it's a good thing, IMHO. The blanket policy is applied equally. So far, so good. Compare that to FOX saying, "No political ads during super bowl", and saying, "we are gonna mix in some of our politics during the super bowl".

Google, by contrast is just saying, "add value". Real differentators are valuable --according to Google, that is.

Right now, I'm inclined to agree, but...

Discuss?

Why is this an issue? Google has no obligation to air any kind of ads. It's not a "free speech" (First Amendment) issue unless the government restricts speech. Google is not regulated by the FCC the way TV stations are because Google does not broadcast over the public airwaves. Google could decide to block ads by Republicans and air only Democratic ads if it chose to.

Andrew