'Close to shutdown...': Trump attacks Google over censorship reports
Former United States President Donald Trump has accused tech giant Google of bias, adding that it is "going to be close to shut down." In an interview with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, Trump criticized Google for not apologizing for blocking certain search results related to his attempted assassination. "Google, nobody called from Google," he said during the segment.
Trump compares Google's response to Facebook's apology
Trump contrasted Google's response with that of Facebook, which had apologized for flagging posts featuring photos of his assassination attempt with fact checks. The former president expressed dissatisfaction with Google, saying that unlike Facebook, no representative from the tech giant reached out to him. His comments were seen as a critique of Google's algorithmic search result ranking practice.
Trump's warning to Google
Trump issued a stern warning to Google, criticizing the company's actions. "Google has been very bad. They've been very irresponsible," he said. Trump added, "I have a feeling that Google's going to be close to shut down because I don't think Congress is going to take it." "I really don't think so...Google has to be careful," he told Bartiromo.
Trump considers stripping Google of Section 230 protections
Towards the end of his interview, Trump suggested that Google could be stripped of its Section 230 protections. He also acknowledged Elon Musk and micro-blogging site X for their support, as Musk has been financially backing a PAC supporting Trump's re-election bid. Notably, Despite a strained relationship with Silicon Valley during his first term, Trump has managed to strengthen ties with tech billionaire Peter Thiel who groomed his running mate JD Vance.
