The corporate fascist state. I wish this was CT.

[MarcoS]

Google according to their own numbers now control two-thirds of all global web searches. Two-thirds of humanity now see the world through filters consisting of the best interests of Google's legal department and shareholders.

Not that there's anything wrong with doing business, or $1000 stock prices, but our intentionally deaf government (unlike others around the world) refuses to establish or defend our constitutional rights on what has become the world's primary common carrier for the private and public exchange of information. I think future historians will be dumbstruck by today's obscene trampling of free speech, privacy and other rights by both our government and private corporations... Manipulated/obfuscated search results, censorship of the world's primary usenet archive etc, it can and will only get worse until our government does its fucking job and protects our rights.

OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS DO NOT SIMPLY END AT THE INTERNET. GOD DAMN IT.

[silverweb]

1. Then be part of the 1/3.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Maybe you can't do anything about the 2/3 that Google controls, but you can choose differently.

Here's a site that doesn't use Google and actually donates with every search to a cause that you get to choose: http://www.goodsearch.com.

[MarcoS]

2. Not the point.

Would you put up with forced commercials during your telephone conversations? How about the USPS holding your postal mail hostage until you watch at least 15 Geico commercials?

The internet has become the world's primary common carrier for private information AND IT NOT ONLY SHOULD BUT IT MUST BE PROTECTED AS SUCH.

[silverweb]

3. And until things ARE as they SHOULD be...

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]... what are you going to do about it? The changes you want could take a little while.

So are you going to not use the internet? Are you going to stomp and scream, and spit into the wind, and hold your breath?

I'll do what little I can in my own independent way (i.e., not use Google), while supporting whatever rebel movements have any glimmer of a chance in eventually effecting real change... the key word here being "eventually."

Alternatives are pretty nonexistent, except maybe for members of Anonymous, which I'm not smart enough to qualify as a member of.

[silverweb]

4. PS - Mute the commercials.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]And welcome to DU.

[idwiyo]

5. Start small, switch to DuckDuckGo, next convince few other people to do the same.

https://duckduckgo.com/

Use Firefox and ad-ons like:

Adblock Plus https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/adblock-plus/

Better Privacy https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/betterprivacy/

Self-Destructing Cookies https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/self-destructing-cookies/

The Lightbeam add-on will help you and your friends see who is tracking you as you browse the Web. Try it first before you install the add-ons I mention above.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/lightbeam/


Tell your friends, ask them to spread the word to the people they know. Show them how it works, help them with install and set-up.