An Argentine court this week granted an injunction that blocks internet giant Google from "suggesting" searches that lead to certain sites that have been deemed anti-Semitic, and removes the sites from the search engine's index.The injunction, filed by DAIA, an umbrella organization of Argentina's Jewish community, also prohibits Google from advertising on the stated websites.
The injunction names 76 sites that the organization considers "highly discriminatory."
Google's suggested searches are a Google algorithm that offers search terms similar to the one the user appears to be typing in.
"The common denominator on these sites is the incitement of hate and the call to violence," DAIA said in a statement. "In none of these cases are there discussions or criticisms from the academic, technological, political or philosophical perspectives."
Google representatives in the United States and Argentina did not immediately respond to calls for comment.
Argentina has the largest Jewish population in Latin America. The Jewish community there numbers more than 250,000, with the majority residing in the capital, Buenos Aires.
The ruling notes that restrictions on freedom of speech and censorship is illegal under the Argentine constitution, but also notes that the constitution protects people from discrimination. As such, the judge cited previous cases in Argentina that establish that in some restricted cases, it is permissible to prevent the diffusion of certain publications if they infringe on someone's personal rights.
Judge Carlos Molina Portela concluded that "the terms mentioned (in the lawsuit) as well as the results obtained through 'suggested searches' could be described as discriminatory acts and/or at least, incitement and/or encouragement for discrimination."
According to DAIA, the suggested search complaint focused on 13 terms that led to websites that are anti-Semitic, some of which deny that the Holocaust took place. The group did not disclose the 13 terms in question, nor the names of the websites that were blocked.
In a statement, the group said that by suggesting these websites, Google is "inducing and directing traffic to sites with offensive and illegal content."
In Argentina, there have been previous cases in which individuals have sued to have certain websites removed from Google's index, citing invasion of privacy, said Robert Faris, research director for the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard.
The court actions in Argentina appear to view Google more as a publisher of information than as an intermediary, he said.
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