Google Claims Search Results Protected Under First Amendment, What About Links?

[Brad]

Okay, this applies only to USA...

Google is trying to inoculate itself from anti-trust claims by buying getting opinions from legal scholars that the SERPS are free speech, opinion and therefore protected.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57430717-38/google-report-says-search-results-protected-by-first-amendment/?

(I do believe Google has some court precedent on their side in the old Searchking vs. Google suit.)

Okay if this holds water, what does it say about linking on the web in general?  We have the movie industry and the recording industry saying that just linking to infringing web pages is illegal, but if Google's SERPs are free speech are not Joe Public's web pages with attendant links also free speech?  The corporate and governmental line has been to try and control linking by making the linker liable for what they link too. However if Google's cold, soulless, machine made serp's are immune what about web pages made by real flesh and blood humans?

Please list, discuss and show the significance of...

[grnidone]

Well, it does seem like MY RIGHT to link to whomever I want.

If that is the case for everyone, then you can't throw a fit for someone else linking to you....because it is THEIR right to do so.

Seems cut and dried to me.

[Chunkford]

Okay if this holds water, what does it say about linking on the web in general? 

Nothing, surely linking to someone is a completely different situation to what's been said in the article?

[JasonD]

I agree with the principle as far as it stands for organic results although do believe the anti trust suits are arguably about how other Goog properties are invading into prominent positions within the SERP itself.

I cant see how this can protect Goog

[Gurtie]

surely, if search results are an opinion it would be up to google to prove that either their SERPs are controlled in a concious way by humans, or to legally establish that a machine following instructions is capable of having 'an opinion' - both seem unlikely to me.

In terms of links - I don't think Google have ever actually said it's not the right of a webmaster to include whatever links they want on their site? - just that if they chose to exclude that site from their index thats up to them.  If, in their moralistic, self righteous, frequently flawed opinion, they should.

[hungrygoose]

Is the First Amendment above all else?  I'm thinking about their anti-competition practices of promoting their shopping products above other shopping engines here... Surely, in my mind at least, the First Amendment should promote fair and balanced speech.  It would then come down to what is fair and what is balanced, I think the shopping engine ranking report proves it's not fair or balanced... even slightly....