A U.S. district court on Thursday upheld Chinese Internet search engine Baidu's searches, which according to the petitioners has been hampering free speech and expression.
Interestingly, Reuters reported Manhattan District Judge Jesse Furman saying Baidu's searches constituted free speech, protected under the U.S. constitution.
"The First Amendment protects Baidu's right to advocate for systems of government other than democracy (in China or elsewhere) just as surely as it protects plaintiffs' rights to advocate for democracy," Judge Furman said.
Reuters said the Judge drew parallels between Baidu's functioning to a newspaper editor's discretion to decide what to publish.
"To allow plaintiffs' suit to proceed, let alone to hold Baidu liable for its editorial judgments, would contravene the principle upon which our political system and cultural life rest: that each person should decide for himself or herself the ideas and beliefs deserving of expression, consideration, and adherence," he said.
The plaintiffs in the suit are eight New York writers and video producers, Reuters said. Chinese search engine services provider, Baidu, was accused of creating algorithms that allegedly prevents U.S. Internet users from accessing content advocating democracy in China. The lawsuit was dismissed last year on procedural grounds but was allowed to resume later.
The petitioner's counsel Stephen Preziosi termed the court's order a paradox.
"The court has laid out a perfect paradox: that it will allow the suppression of free speech, in the name of free speech," he told Reuters adding that his clients would appeal against the dismissal.
"Baidu is more analogous to a town square, where pretty much anyone can go and say what he wants," he said drawing a reference to Judge Furman's editor analogy.
Reuters reported that the lawsuit was filed a year after Google pulled out of China. Since then Youtube, Facebook and Twitter have also been censored.
