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Re:Yandex Provides Update on Impact of Current Developments by cocoafleck on Friday March 04, 2022 @08:45PM (#30563184)
Google also censors, however, they censor different topics. They mostly filter content related to piracy, suicide, and misinformation sources.
Re:Yandex Provides Update on Impact of Current Developments by KarlKemp on Friday March 04, 2022 @08:49PM (#30563215)
Google, not being a government, may editorialize, using the same right you avail yourself of when you post your opinion, but not mine.

Google cannot censor. By definition. Neither can Yandex. Both can be censored however, although only the latter is.

The Russian government can & does censor, including, starting tomorrow, 15-year jail-sentences for „misleading statements“ about you-know-what.

Re:Yandex Provides Update on Impact of Current Developments by mquander on Friday March 04, 2022 @08:55PM (#30563255)
Google disagrees with you. It presents this definition of the verb "censor" in a one-box:

https://www.google.com/search?q=censor%20definition

> examine (a book, movie, etc.) officially and suppress unacceptable parts of it.

Re:Yandex Provides Update on Impact of Current Developments by threeseed on Saturday March 05, 2022 @12:28AM (#30564585)
Google disagrees with you. It presents this definition of the verb "officially" in a one-box:

https://www.google.com/search?q=officially

> with the authority of the government or other organization

Re:Yandex Provides Update on Impact of Current Developments by mquander on Saturday March 05, 2022 @12:34AM (#30564622)
Wouldn't you say that Google is an organization, employing people with the authority to examine and suppress content?
Re:Yandex Provides Update on Impact of Current Developments by ivan90210 on Friday March 04, 2022 @09:10PM (#30563370)
I suppose you don't call removal of LGBTP+ elements from the media released in Russia/China/MENA "censorship" either, just private companies exercising their rights, right?
Re:Yandex Provides Update on Impact of Current Developments by filoleg on Friday March 04, 2022 @09:55PM (#30563706)
> I suppose you don't call removal of LGBTP+ elements from the media released in Russia/China/MENA "censorship" either, just private companies exercising their rights, right?

I would call it censorship. But in those examples you listed, I would attribute it to the government and not the company. Because by removing those elements, they are not "exercising their rights to do so", they are "complying with local laws and regulations by doing so".

For a specific example: in Russia, "propaganda of homosexualty" (which includes something as trivial as explicitly acknowledging that one of the main characters is attracted to a person, or people in general, of the same sex) is against the law and is heavily punished.

So in reality, those companies only have two options: sell their product with those elements removed for that specific market or become unable to legally sell their product in that market at all.

Is it censorship? I would argue "yes", but I wouldn't say that the censorship is done by the company. If that action was required in order to be in compliance with local laws and regulations, I would call it for what it actually is - government censorship. After all, they are the ones making those laws and regulations that decide what is allowed and what needs to be removed.

Re:Yandex Provides Update on Impact of Current Developments by _jal on Friday March 04, 2022 @09:12PM (#30563385)
Google can censor. Censorship is necessarily performed by an entity with the power to restrict information conveyance, but it is not necessary for them to be a government.

It is true that it is impossible for Google to violate the 1st Amendment (unless they were nationalized first).

Re:Yandex Provides Update on Impact of Current Developments by tomc1985 on Friday March 04, 2022 @09:31PM (#30563531)
And how exactly is Google prohibited from censoring? By definition?

They're a private company. They can do whatever they want within the limits of the law. And the law doesn't say anything about not publishing something. Which can be done for purposes of censorship.

Re:Yandex Provides Update on Impact of Current Developments by Barrin92 on Friday March 04, 2022 @10:12PM (#30563823)
>And how exactly is Google prohibited from censoring? By definition?

They're not a publisher. You have zero ability to post anything to Google, so there is nobody to be censored. They're an aggregator, and any aggregator can display whatever information they want.

Re:Yandex Provides Update on Impact of Current Developments by CyanBird on Friday March 04, 2022 @08:55PM (#30563253)
Censor is censor: Please avoid editorializing the discussion