Suspects of discrimination and censorship by IT corporations (Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc.) against legitimate gun-related businesses and pro-gun opinions have now been a hot discussion topic for a handful of years.

Indeed, ever since the Parkland shooting of February 2018 and the Las Vegas shooting of October 2017 – or even as far back as after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting of December 2012 – many social networks, search engines, web-based promotion services and stores enacted policies that limit the freedom of expression of gun rights supporters and make it harder for legitimate businesses operating on the legal firearms market to become visible to their intended public.

One of the most striking cases of discrimination under these new anti-gun policies is the suspension or termination of several Google AdWords/AdSense accounts related to websites which, according to Google's new terms of services, advertised "any products that:

(i) were designed to injure an opponent in sport, self-defense or combat such as knives, crossbows and guns, or

(ii) which comprised any part or component necessary to the function of a gun, or

(iii) which were intended for attachment to a gun” in violation of Google’s “dangerous products or services policy."

In a message sent to its members on October 29, 2018, the NSSF - National Shooting Sports Foundation – the firearms industry trade association of the United States – invites any business that has been harmed by the termination or suspension of their Google AdWords/AdSense accounts between March 2014 and September 2017 based on the above-mentioned terms to take part in a class action civil lawsuit currently pending against Google LLC. in a federal court in San José, California.

Holding an FFL or being based in California is not necessary to become a plaintiff in the lawsuit – the business can be located anywhere in the United States, as long as it has had its Google AdWords/AdSense account suspended or terminated between March 2014 and September 2017 on the above-mentioned grounds.

Being a class action, no attorney fees or costs will be charged to join. Rather, plaintiff’s counsel will be paid by court order on a contingent basis.

Businesses interested in learning more or in participating in the case are advised to contact directly William McGrane, Esq., who is acting as putative class action counsel in the pending federal class action lawsuit.
Mr. McGrane can be reached via E-Mail; other contact informations and his biography are available to the public on his official website.

Taking part to this class action is an important step to strongly affirm Second Amendment rights over political ideology. Businesses in the United States that have suffered suspension or termination of their AdWords/AdSense accounts by Google just because they were legally selling firearms, ammunition, accessories, knives or archery are recommended to join in and help make a strong point against megacorporates that put ideology before constitutional rights.