Google Relents, Gun & Ammo Shopping Results Are Back
UPDATE: See bottom of post.
Many of you emailed Google, tweeted and “liked” (8,600 likes) the post I wrote about Google censoring shopping results for guns and ammo. It worked! Google appears to have relented and gun and ammo results are back in the Google Shopping index.
I am pleased that Google realized that a sport, hobby and way-of-life which tens of millions of children and adults actively participate is not “harmful” to include in the Google Shopping index. If people are searching for “5.56mm ammunition”, they want to see “5.56mm ammunition”, removing the ability to compare prices of 5.56mm ammunition is just silly.
I was beginning to wonder where it would end. Were they planning on banning knives, handcuffs, ninja stars, replica swords? What about banning shooting books in the Google Books index?
UPDATE: It was definitely working for me a few hours ago, but now when I search I am not getting the same results. A reader from Canada reported that it is working for him. If I search for “rifle scope” in Google Shopping I get no results, but if I search in the main Google engine I get some broken results.
It is working for anyone else?
I founded TFB in 2007 and over 10 years worked tirelessly, with the help of my team, to build it up into the largest gun blog online. I retired as Editor in Chief in 2017. During my decade at TFB I was fortunate to work with the most amazing talented writers and genuinely good people!
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Nope. Still censored. :(
Want to buy a cellphone holster on Google? Too bad, you'll get zero results. A non-fiction reference book on the history of firearms, too bad again zero.
However if you want to buy fantasy rape, murder, or torture fiction you are in luck.
Murder turns up 2,270,000 results. Rape and torture return thousands.
Great post! We will be linking to this particularly great content on our website.
Keep up the great writing.