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Sen. Joe Lieberman Wants Google To Let Users Flag ‘Terrorist Content’

» 52 comments

Joe Lieberman has always been a great pioneer for internet freedom. Last year, he suggested that the United States should implement an internet kill switch in the event of a cyberattack by taking its cues from China. Now Lieberman is calling for the world’s most popular search engine to censor material that could potentially be used to spread terrorist information.

Lieberman sent a letter to Google CEO Larry Page asking the company to implement a system where users can report websites harboring terrorism and Google will remove them from their Blogger platform. Lieberman brought up the case of Jose Pimentel, who was recently arrested in New York for attempting to make a pipe bomb, and *gasp* used the internet to do it! Lieberman gave Google some praise for banning any terrorist content from YouTube and allowing users to flag videos, but insisted they do more and implement a similar system on their search platform.

From the letter:

“Google sets its own standards for materials allowable on its servers. Through your updated YouTube standards, Google has affirmatively stated that terrorist content will not be permitted on some of your sites. I strongly believe that Google should expand that standard to include your other platforms. The private sector plays an important role in protecting our homeland from the preeminent threat of violent Islamist extremism, and Google’s inconsistent standards are adversely affecting our ability to counter violent Islamist extremism online.”

These kinds of policy decisions are almost always carried out subjectively, and if Google is given carte blanche to censor material they think could potentially influence terrorists, who knows what Blogger pages they would target.

h/t Crooks And Liars

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  • Anonymous

    Yes, the GOP embraces the police state, where neighbors watch over the activities of other neighbors and report anything “suspicious”. It amazes me that the media allows this “small government yet giant national security state” hypocrisy to be repeated without questioning.

    And yes, I know Lieberman is ostensibly a Democrat. But he’s a Zell Miller “Democrat”.

  • Anonymous

    Just another sign that America needs Ron Paul for president.

  • Anonymous

    They’ve already got attackwatch.com.

  • Frizzymstarbaby2

    Lieberman is neither a Demorat or a Republican.  He is a DINO.  A Democrat in name only and motivated by fear as are all Neocons.     frizzymstarbaby2

  • Jay

    I am glad that Inner Party member Joe Lieberman is there to protect the Proles of Oceania from the terrorists of Eurasia.  The Ministry of Truth needs these new powers to keep us from being exposed to oldspeak published by thought criminals.

  • Occupy Mediaite

    Us occupiers are for free speech…even for terrorists!
    Call the ACLU!

  • Anonymous

    Why haven’t Republicans and Lieberman banned telephones yet?

  • http://thefunemployed.blogspot.com/ rance

    he’s not a Zel Miller deomocrat, he is a DEMOCRAT.  He ran as the VP on the Democrat ticket. 

    You’re an idiot.  It slays me that when a democrat, as usual, wants to take away American’s freedoms, they somehow get labeled a Republican.  Joe Libermann is a Democrat.  Always has been, always will be.

  • Anonymous

    No he’s not he’s a Zionist. Has nothing but Israels best interests in mind….

  • Anonymous

    Just like Ronald Reagan. Once a Democrat, always a Democrat.

  • americanoutlaw

    Because then no one could call your hut in North Korea.

  • http://twitter.com/CGarison Garison C. Garison

    Whatever folks.  It doesn’t matter if he is a democrat or not.   It just matters that this Lieberman is an idiot.  

  • http://twitter.com/SiverVixon joshua tucker

    I for one think it’s a great idea…..I would personally flag every useless  government department….flag every web sight that neoconservatives use. A form of web-Democracy where THE People get to choose what they consider terrorism. This one will bite politicians on there ass. And I would more than happy to point out the flaws of  Politicians and the  Federal Reserve as being acts of “terrorism” in this country. Careful what you ask for you dumb ass politicians, the majority of the people are NOT with you.

  • Uniquenewyork

    That’s a false equivalency, but Liebermann is about as much a Democrat as Ron Paul is a Republican. 

  • Uniquenewyork

    Bravo.

  • Liberal Natural Selection

    Aaaahhhh yeaaaah… ALL LIBERAL CONTENT IS ‘TERRORIST CONTENT’! THIS IS MY KIND OF ‘PROGRESS’! GO GO GO PROGRESSIVE FRUITS!

  • Anonymous

    Look at it his voting record! He’s a liberal as long as it fits your negative spin!

  • Anonymous

    To bad, nothing supports this,… at all! However the “teas” will have to change their hate on comments against Obama!

  • Liberal Natural Selection

    Prove it… And refrain from ‘teas’ and man ballsacks’ in your mouth and all the other things that liberals’ find pleasing and ordinary.

  • Liberal Natural Selection

    Us terrorists’ are for torturing occupiers!
    Call your mother!

  • Just some Blow Hard…

    Technically he is a independent.  He gets no money from either party for his election.

  • Just some Blow Hard…

    Wasn’t there a Twilight Zone about this?

  • Celisary45

    Liberman is a Fricken Moron!!!!!

  • http://twitter.com/SiverVixon joshua tucker

    think about it…. everyone in America affecting change through a majority vote of it’s citizens.. and not it’s politicians. A small step in the right direction. Providing that all results are independently controlled not by citizens or a Governing body…But an impartial party to both sides. Through the use of social media and maybe internet web polls. No bill.. no constitutional amendment….no law passed without first being voted by the American population at large.
    Anyways I nice sounding lofty idea…. wish it was posable .

  • Anonymous

    “asking the company to implement a system where users can report websites harboring terrorism”

    Okay, here’s my contribution to the list. whitehouse.gov, dhs.gov, ice.gov, justice.gov and justice.gov/dea/

    It’s a start.

  • Anonymous

    Lieberman is an idiot. Quite insane for a Jewish man to embrace a police state. It reminds me of his other genius idea from early last year. 
    http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2010/05/white-house-gives-chilly-reception-to-liebermans-citizenshipstripping-bill/

  • Anonymous

    There’s no such thing as “DINO” in the DP. The broad coalition of different minded Democrats ensures it’s numbers. Liberals only make up 20% of the country. Adopting a purist doctrine would ensure the DP became a regional party with no influence in national politics. Actually, I wish that happened to both the DP and the GOP. That would enhance the emergence of a centrist/pragmatic party devoid of ideologues.

  • Same Sex Liberal Kindergarten

    What happened to diversity and all that nonsense? Verry Cu nt.

  • Anonymous

    I’m glad to see you want ballsacks (you’re the one who brought it up), but the point is I said “nothing supports that” and you say……… “prove it”! What,… that doesn’t make any sense. How do you prove what I say couldn’t be supported? Next point, are you saying on this site the “teas”,at most times don’t made vile comments about Obama? Are you blind or just can’t read? You’ve done it yourself!

  • Kid Dynamite

    Good idea. I’ll report the AIPAC website.

  • Same Sex Liberal Kindergarten

    WTF? At a minimum you suffer from liberal selective comprehension. Stop typing…

  • Anonymous

    Now, Now, Jay! Sounds like you need your ’15 minutes of hate’ to get it all out of your system! Now take a Soma and relax… Big Brother LOVES you!

  • Anonymous

    Hey, Joe- Your idea is so Un-Ammerican and anti-free speech that you should tag your OWN proposal as terrorist! Or maybe submit it to the Ministry Of Truth so it can be evaluated…

  • Charles Ulysses Feney

    How about this content Joe:
    911 was an inside job that was arranged, executed, and covered up by elements from the State of Israel and Rogue intelligence operatives.

    I believe that makes YOU THE TERRORIST, Senator Lieberman.

  • Anonymous

    Lieberman is the sort of twat who thinks the world should be run in the interests of rich people in the US and Israel. He is too stupid to realise this has been a seriously counter-productive attitude. 

  • Anonymous
  • Anonymous
  • Jay

    War is Peace.  Freedom is Slavery.  Ignorance is Strength.

  • Anonymous

    What an idea like this comes down to is who decides the legitimacy of a report,not the concept of reporting a potential terror related site.It’s easy to condemn this idea if you look at it superficially but hey lets not do that for once.

    I know I know,it’s election time and we have a need to tailor ideas to an agenda.

    If this idea was implemented and the process involved a fairly rigorous review before any action was taken then it wouldn’t be a bad idea.If it basically follows the Craigslist plan,user moderation with no review process,then it’s a bad idea.

    We all know the internet is the new training and recruitment platform for terror.We’ve even targeted people who almost exclusively were online to recruit for terror organizations.Some of these sites are subtle and hidden.Some are found by accident by those not directed specifically to them.

    So once you look further than a headline there’s a possible idea here,but only if it’s handled properly.

  • Anonymous

    This might be the best explanation. Zionists are essentially just acceptable traitors.

  • GDC

    Sen. Joe Lieberman IS senile.

  • trudging along

    Timothy James McVeigh;
    Eric Robert Rudolph, also known as the Olympic Park Bomber
    James Charles Kopp, convicted for the sniper-style murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian:  
    Kevin William Harpham, the Martin Luther King Day bomber in Spokane, Washington;
     
    It was reported that all the above used web sites that either gave vocal support or how-to information on how to build bombs, find targets or avoid capture, among other things.  These sites were reviewed after each incident and deemed within the First Amendment’s rights.   I am more worried about acts of terrorism from these types of people as their “patriotic buddies” never seem to turn them in.   I am sure the radical gun-rights, anti-abortion Christian, militia or posse comitatus types would scream like mad if anyone tagged their sites.  Besides; how would you like either Fox, MSNBC (GE), or some other similarly biased company making the decisions on what to tag if they bought Google or whatever other browser site in the future.   Would you trust the Government?  If so; see how large the divide in the Supremes and the Super Committee we now have.

  • Hankscott

    Couldn’t we press Google to flag Joe Lieberman content? This man is such an embarrassment. He really should step down before he completely destroys what reputation he has left.

  • Anonymous

    WTF!!?? It’s unclear what you’re trying to say here,…”selective comprehension”! So you’re saying this site isn’t full of hate comments about Obama,…really,….. read it ?! Maybe you should stop tyipng or find a different topic. “Teas” wouldn’t even agree with you! They’re proud of their hate comments, just read!

  • Patnal

    he IS an idiot; AND senile…..AND a zionist…….phew; put this man back on his meds.  jerk.

  • Anonymous

    I highly doubt I’d trust you.

  • Anonymous

    Here’s an idea.  Take your shi* thinking somewhere else.

  • Jay

    Jayson2,

    We understand that your inability to think critically keeps you for comprehending irony.

    Suggested reading: http://www.amazon.com/Nineteen-Eighty-Four-George-Orwell/dp/0452284236/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322453762&sr=8-1

  • http://www.facebook.com/larry.nocella Larry Nocella

    I’ll be flagging Liberman as warmongering douche bag.

    Can you imagine if this proposal went through? With all the melodrama coming from (sorry kids, it’s the truth) the Republicans and right wing? Modify healthcare? TERRORISM! Pitch a tent in a park? TERRORISM! Tolerance for gays? TERRORISM! And on and on…

    Ever hear of the story “The boy who cried wolf?” Now we have the “morans” who cried terrorism. When terrorism actually happens what will we call it? Snif! My family died in a car bomb attack. Dude, I know exactly how you feel, I was charged 8 percent sales tax! It’s terrorism!

    Carry on.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Seer-Clearly/100001763720393 Seer Clearly

    Fox News forgets that there are many who would flag their site as terrorist.   The way in which they have interfered with a legitimately elected administration is treasonous if not terrorist.

  • http://twitter.com/cherylpet Haviva

    Not a peep from Lieberman and then suddenly this? Not exactly a stellar moment!

  • http://twitter.com/cherylpet Haviva

    Wasn’t that kind of thing big during the Nazi regime? Turning in people? Sounds like someone “forgot!”

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