In today's New York Times Magazine, Jeffrey Rosen asks who decides what content we can view over the Internet.
Increasingly it's Google, with its vast and global search engine reach as well as its dominance of online video via YouTube.
Somewhat disconcertingly, we learn that the first line of arbitration at YouTube is a corps of twenty-somethings who rule on individual requests to find certain videos unacceptable. If it gets too tricky for them, they bump it upstairs to Google headquarters where a cadre of lapsed journalists-cum-attorneys try to strike a thoughtful balance between local law and free speech.
Not so easy when the laws vary so much from country to country and when the volume of content is increasing nearly exponentially. Even the Google-istas admit their current model is unsustainable.
And what happens if Google and other companies choose in the future to weight their decisions more in favor of commercial considerations than free speech objectives?
Worth reading.
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