The world's largest Internet search engine has denied a British Christian group's application to advertise because the group's website addresses abortion from a religious perspective.
The Christian Institute -- a United Kingdom-based charity that promotes biblical beliefs -- recently applied to place ads (referred to as "adverts" in Great Britain) on Google UK. But Christian Institute's Mike Judge says they were denied. "[W]e wanted to place [an ad] on the issue of abortion," explains Judge. "And we wanted to advertise some of the articles that are on our website regarding that issue. The ad would have stated: "UK Abortion Law – Key views and news on abortion from the Christian Institute" – and included a link to the group's website. Currently searching the word "abortion" on Google UK returns paid ads for abortion clinics and pro-abortion lobbying groups, and that is why Google UK's response shocked Judge. "Google banned the ad," he continues, "[b]ecause they don't allow religious sites to place adverts on the issue of abortion. But they're quite happy to accept abortion adverts from non-religious sites." Judge believes Google UK's response is an infringement of free speech, which is unlawful under British law. He says even Google admits they rejected the ad based on religion. But the British Equality Act of 2006 makes it illegal to discriminate on a number of grounds, including religion. The Christian Institutes' attorney has since sent a letter to Google UK demanding that they publish the ad within seven days, and that they pay attorney's fees. "We have not heard anything back from Google, and it is very rapidly approaching the end of that deadline," says Judge. If Google fails to respond, Judge says he will "rapidly" proceed with legal action. He adds that the Christian Institute is hopeful this dispute will establish the right of all Christian groups to advertise on Google worldwide, not just in the UK.
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