Google’s Changing Neutrality and Ideological Bias

There was a time when Google had an unofficial motto: “Don’t be the bad guy.” But, one wonders about the extent to which ideology drives them. Is it really clear? Or does it just feel arbitrary at times?

Google promotes itself as a neutral search engine—think of it as the Switzerland of the internet. Yet, this claimed neutrality often fades when the algorithm encounters content it disapproves of. Suddenly, what you’re searching for feels elusive, almost impossible to find unless you know exactly where to look. If you don’t, well, good luck navigating it.

You can’t fix what you don’t understand.

And promoting something without Google’s approval? Even more challenging.

Most people still see Google merely as a search engine, which feels outdated now. The reality is, Google has become a dominant force in online advertising. With limited competition, advertisers find themselves using Google’s platform, bound by its terms and conditions—essentially allowing Google to act as both the gatekeeper and the judge.

Gone are the days when advertisers could simply buy ad space through print publications directly. Nowadays, the ad economy largely revolves around a single player, and some would call that a monopoly. It gets even more concerning when such a monopoly has an ideological slant.

Google—along with some other platforms—tends to lean towards a particular ideology. Content that doesn’t fit into that worldview, especially from conservative or Christian perspectives, can be marginalized. Many people learn to suppress such content without raising any suspicion. Your content might sink in the search rankings, making it nearly invisible. This suppression extends even to revenue generation, with vague policy warnings blocking ads without clear explanations.

It seems Google and TikTok are approaching the same issue with faith-based content.

Have you heard about TruPlay? Probably not, and that’s kind of the point.

TruPlay is an entertainment app focused on children, offering faith-based games and videos. The content is wholesome—no violence, no adult themes—exactly what many parents want. There’s clearly a market for healthy screen time, and yes, you can monetize it.

However, according to the American Law and Justice Center, Google has refused to engage with TruPlay for ideological reasons. They cited “religious beliefs against personalized advertising” as a reason for blocking the app’s ad campaign.

Seriously, read that again. Google is saying religious beliefs matter.

TruPlay reportedly tried to comply, submitting various modifications to its ad content, but kept receiving the same rejection. The ads were pretty straightforward, promoting things like “Turn game time into God time,” and “Safe Bible games for kids.” None were inflammatory.

Google’s policy claims to prohibit targeting audiences based on sensitive info like health or religion. Yet, TruPlay didn’t target religious audiences and didn’t collect personal data; it aimed to promote Christian content to everyone.

Google’s response? “Your content is too sensitive to promote.”

That’s a shift. “Sensitive” used to mean explicit or violent material. Now it seems to include “Christian games for children.”

TikTok seems to be following a similar path, but with even less transparency, according to the ACLJ. TruPlay’s advertising account was reportedly suspended due to vague or unspecified “repeated violations.” One of the ads even mentioned the word “church,” and reportedly, a preview image showcasing Jesus on the cross was flagged. It was part of the app’s imagery, not in the ad itself. The ACLJ suspects TikTok would have banned the ads regardless.

You really can’t fix what you don’t understand, and that’s what’s troubling. The opacity creates uncertainty. There are no clear rules—just verdicts issued without much clarity.

From an economic standpoint, it’s clear that Google and TikTok aren’t shunning ads due to fears of upsetting users; they’re overlooking ads that parents are actively seeking. This is quite puzzling, as they seem ready to forgo revenue just to push down anything overtly Christian or family-oriented.

The ACLJ has sent a letter to Rep. Jim Jordan, asking him to investigate what they term “systemic discrimination” against Christian content creators as part of a broader trend of viewpoint censorship.

When Google and TikTok respond, they’ll likely stick to their usual defenses: “We’re just a private company; we can set our own rules.” And that’s fair enough. But it feels a bit disingenuous to maintain that facade of neutrality when you’re clearly acting as a political gatekeeper.

It’s as if they want to have it both ways. Either you’re the neutral platform you claim to be, or you’re not.

Time to rethink how we treat giants like Google and TikTok.