Online search giant Google placed an image of a black ribbon on its homepage as a tribute to the victims of the terrorist attack on French magazine Charlie Hebdo, Wikitimes said.
The company has long been concerned with censorship issues and has often unveiled initiatives to protect online freedom of expression. It has even been a target, such as when the search results of an early-stage release of the website in China were censored, raising concern by founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the report said.
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Brin explained his concerns at a TED conference in 2010 and revealed they were able to “censor less and less” and helped their competitors in China do the same, arguing Google’s entry helped the Chinese market. Recently, Google helped promote freedom of expression by providing its own Google Play platform to help distribute the movie “The Interview” which had been subject to censorship after alleged threats from North Korea, Wikitimes said.
It is no surprise that Google has been affected by the attack in Paris as the company follows its Internet counterparts Facebook and Twitter in promoting an open exchange of information to have a positive global impact, the website said.
The impact of the shooting can be felt far and wide, with leaders across the globe united in condemning the attack. With companies such as Google now stepping in and showing support, the search giant can further promote freedom of expression at such a critical time, Wikitimes said.
