Google's History Of Cryptocurrency Censorship Goes Beyond YouTube

YouTube’s recent cryptocurrency ban has left the community wondering about Google’s views on the cryptocurrency industry once again, according to Forbes.

While YouTube stated that the ban of blockchain and cryptocurrency-related videos was a mistake, this “error” falls in line with similar patterns of hostility towards cryptocurrencies from Google.

Google banned cryptocurrency advertising in March of 2018, this ban not only excluded cryptocurrencies from most paid advertising solutions but also extended to Adwords solutions on Youtube, keyword searches on Google and more. The ban was eventually overturned.

Google then suspended Ethereum mobile wallet MetaMask from the Google Play Store, citing “deceptive services” and referring to a financial services policy that among other things, bans the ability to mine cryptocurrency on mobile for Play Store apps as well as bans apps that “expose users to deceptive or harmful financial products and services”.

Roger Haung of Forbes points to the sizable amount of money that Google has invested into the centralized web as a reason for the censorship. The fact that many cryptocurrency and decentralized apps directly oppose Google’s Central business model of capturing digital attention through providing the underlying infrastructure for much of the Web creates a potential problem for the internet giant.

By Ramsey Baker

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