Today, NetChoice criticized Ohio’s lawsuit against Google that seeks to declare the private company as a common carrier and to render Google Search less-innovative and less-useful for consumers.
“The State would prefer Ohioans’ searches take more clicks, more time, and more aggravation to find basic information like business addresses and weather forecasts. Letting states like Ohio run search engines like they run public utilities will directly hurt Ohioans and degrade Google Search’s quality,” said Carl Szabo, Vice President and General Counsel at NetChoice. “Putting politicians in control of what and where links appear ensures they can treat search as a tool to push political ambitions and suppress content that could hurt their chances at reelection.”
“The State argues social media should be a public utility but ignores how content moderation and age limitations are a feature, not a bug, of how America’s leading websites work,” continued Szabo. “If Ohio gets its way, we will see less effective search results, more offensive content, and a less family friendly experience online.”