Republican Senator now investigating Google for omitting Trump assassination attempt from autocomplete

Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) said in a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai that Google's omission of the Trump assassination as a suggestion on autocomplete was censorship and "violates the intent of section 230."

🚨BREAKING: I am launching a full investigation into @Google’s censorship & bias that is constricting the free flow of information. Google, the largest Search Engine Operator in the world, has become a propaganda wing of the Left. No more hiding behind your algorithm- your time… pic.twitter.com/l40L4TVQS4

— Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) July 31, 2024

I am launching a full investigation into @Google’s censorship & bias that is constricting the free flow of information," Marshall said in the letter, which he posted on X. "Google, the largest Search Engine Operator in the world, has become a propagda wing of the Left. No more hiding behind your algorithm- your time is up."

"Willful discrimination"

Google’s omission of "suggestions to the most obvious and recent victim of an assassination attempt shows a willful discrimination against President Trump and user of your search engine," Marshall continued.

"Furthermore, Google’s decision to selectively erect hurdles to those seeking to obtain more information regarding one of the most important events in recent American history places you in the role of information arbiter, well beyond the scope of your firm’s purported purpose," he added.

If Google wants to be an editor or publisher, "Congress could then regulate accordingly by removing the sacred Section 230 protections your firm has long used to silence conservative voices," Marshall threatened.

The term "assassination attempt on Trump" did not come up as an autocompletion in numerous users' searches on Google last week.

Instead, suggestions of assassination attempts on Truman, Teddy Roosevelt, the Pope, and Tucker Carlson were offered.

The timeliness of Trump's shooting would normally have brought that up as the first suggestion, but some liberals are choosing not to view Trump's shooting as an assassination attempt on a former president and nominee for 2024.

"Woefully inadequate"

In response to Google's claim that "no manual action" was taken to omit the result, Marshall said,"This clarification is woefully inadequate, disingenuous, and misleading. If the autocomplete function is truly reflective of the recent searches completed on Google, the self-learning algorithms should have easily adjusted their autocomplete function during a massive increase in search queries over the last two weeks."

Marshall said he would use "everything in my power" as a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee "to encourage fellow Committee members to force Google to testify under oath regarding these practices."

He wanted to know why the search was omitted, who was in charge of the algorithm, and "why you believe hiding violent search functions is better for the public discourse than offering up-to-date information."

If Republicans can't get a handle on censorship by Google and other big tech platforms now, it's only going to get a lot worse by the time Americans head to the polls in October (early voting) and November.