Posted on 10/16/2007 9:37:22 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
The left-leaning political advocacy group, MoveOn.org, is backing down in a flap over the use of its name in online advertisements, permitting an influential Republican senator to criticize the organization in a reelection ad on Google’s search engine.
“We don’t want to support a policy that denies people freedom of expression,” says Jennifer Lindenauer, MoveOn.org’s communications director.
Both MoveOn.org and Google late last week faced a barrage of criticism after an internet strategist for Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine complained that Google had blocked several re-election ads from the search engine’s advertising network because the ads contained the trademarked term “MoveOn.org” in the text.
“Stop Moveon.org. More MoveOn money in Maine than anywhere else. Learn how to help,” read one of the banned ads, which linked to Collins’ reelection campaign site.
Under Google’s trademark policy, owners can request that third parties’ not be allowed to use their trademarked term in the text of ads — a policy that far exceeds the requirements of trademark law. Lindenauer says that MoveOn.org withdrew from that policy on Friday after it heard about the brewing controversy over Google’s termination of Collins’ text ads using the group’s name.
“When we became aware of all the controversy around it, we opted out,” Lindenauer says. “Of course we support free speech, and the right of anyone to parody us, but what we do care about is protecting our members — we don’t want anyone using our name or logo in a way that could harm our members and mission.”
Do not forget, however, that the MoveOn thugs have stood by their bullying of Cafe Press shop owners who mocked the left-wing group on t-shirts and mugs defending Gen. David Petraeus.
So much for their support of free speech.
(Excerpt) Read more at michellemalkin.com ...
Free speech is only free in the liberal mind so long as it attacks conservatives, or promotes liberal thinking. Anything else is, of course, forbidden, and thus we have hate speech laws. “I hate American” is legal, “I hate Islamics” is hate speech.
Just say MorOn.org. Everyone knows who you mean.
They know their own standard could be used against them the next time they criticize a big corporation.
ping
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