TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose The purpose of this paper is to create knowledge on how Google and Google search are discursively constructed as a political subject suitable or not suitable for governing in the debate regarding the Right to be Forgotten ruling (RTBF).Design/methodology/approach A total of 28 texts are analysed using a Foucauldian discourse analysis focussing on political problematisations in the media and in blogs.Findings Google is conceptualised as a commercial company, a neutral facilitator of the world and as a judge of character. The discourse makes visible Google’s power over knowledge production. The individual being searched is constructed as a political object that is either guilty or innocent, invoking morality as a part of the policy. The ruling is framed as giving individuals power over companies, but the power still lies within Google’s technical framework.Originality/value The ruling opens up an empirical possibility to critically examine Google. The value of the study is the combination of focus on Google as a political subject and the individual being searched to understand how Google is constructed in the discourse.
VL  - 42
IS  - 6
SN  - 1468-4527
DO  - 10.1108/OIR-06-2017-0198
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-06-2017-0198
AU  - Lindsköld Linnéa
PY  - 2018
Y1  - 2018/01/01
TI  - Google as a political subject: the right to be forgotten debate 2014-2016
T2  - Online Information Review
PB  - Emerald Publishing Limited
SP  - 768
EP  - 783
Y2  - 2024/09/19
ER  -