A leading music website has censored album covers by artists including Sigur Rós and Lambchop after they fell foul of a Google advertising ban on supposedly sexually explicit content. Drowned in Sound (DiS) was told that the covers,
which include scenes of uncontroversial nudity, could no longer be shown on web pages which sit alongside Google's Adsense advertising network. The website relies upon income from Google's advertising system and so has had to cover up the
offending artworks. DiS was told that it would be blocked from accessing Google's advertising network within days if it failed to comply. Sean Adams, who founded DiS in 2000, said that it seems crazy that they feel they can police our editorial
and questioned whether Google might one day seek the removal of material which could seriously compromise freedom of expression. The cover of Sigur Rós' 2008 album, Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust , which features naked
buttocks, incorporates an image by the acclaimed American photographer, Ryan McGinley. Another offending cover, OH (Ohio) by Lambchop, features a painting called New Orleans Police Beating by Michael Peed. Its image of naked lovers is designed
to contrast scenes of intimacy with violence outside. Google is seeking to distance itself from the porn industry. The warning to DiS seems to have been caught up in a recent Google move to ban adverts that promote graphic depictions of sexual
acts. |